


Change fate by being aggressively kind

by sircantus



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: "What like it's hard?", "You're just stopping them ending the world by being a loving caring father?", Alternate Universe - Magic, Dadza, Everyone else upon seeing Phil raise beings of absolute chaos:, Family Dynamics, Fluff, Gen, I just love throwing words man, Okay okay enough messing with the tags, Phil is such a dad that he stops the apocalypse, Phil with his 'best dad ever' mug:, Protective Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Protective Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), So thats cool!, The sleepybois are literally just, This apparently gives off Good Omens vibes, alright lets do this, and Phil is like "how about we just don't create the end of the world hm?", chaotic af, maybe some angst eh we'll see, overall it's just gonna be a lot of family feels, so much world building, thats it thats the fic, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28237845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sircantus/pseuds/sircantus
Summary: “You do understand that you’re caring for the thing meant to bring destruction and chaos to our world, right?” The woman asks, Phil looking behind him fondly as Techno grabs at the ends of his wings.“He’s just a child.” Phil answers distractedly, humming as his wings get gently yanked at.“He’s the first of three to destroy life as we know it! Shouldn’t we, well, get rid of him?!”“Oh, no.” Phil raises his eyes with a sharp glare. “Believe me, I have my own way of preventing the apocalypse.”---Or, Techno, Wilbur, and Tommy are basically chaotic forces of nature, destined from birth to end the world and bring destruction. Most who hear of the tale of them are trying their best to track them down, and to end the monsters while they’re still young, still just children.Phil has a different plan.(In which Phil raises the minecraft equivalents of the anti-christ with love and support, so much so to the point where the world ending is really just a funny thought, and Phil has three kids who casually have powers that are bit more extreme than anything else in the world)
Relationships: Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Comments: 619
Kudos: 3352





	1. Whispers go around

**Author's Note:**

> I had an idea where Phil is like, living his life out in the Minecraft world, just chilling, and he still gets his chaotic kids, but he acquires them through the fact that everyone else is like “these children are so goddamn destructive” 
> 
> Then I was like, “What if Phil basically just stops armageddon by being a Dad” and here we are. 
> 
> Enjoy :)

Phil hears it first when he’s at the side of a road, in the middle of a cold forest, a few kind strangers sitting around him, all of them choosing to stay together for the night. Mindless, bloodthirsty monsters are rare in these lands, but they all have enough experience to be wary of the dark. 

They’re talking around a small fire, Phil drinking warm tea from a cup that warms his palms as the others chat about their lives, their experiences, and their sights. He’s seen plenty, maybe more than most, really, but it’s always nice to hear of other’s tales. 

He would speak of his own adventures, he would, only he’s not in the mood for the strange look in people’s eyes when they glance to his wings, gaze dragging over the necklace around his neck that has a faint red glow. People always ask the same questions, and after a while, Phil just gets tired of it.

At the very least, he’s not the only one who’s otherworldly, for there’s a woman sitting across him with the horns of a ram growing out of her head, and her ears are nowhere like a human’s.

She’s not as quiet as Phil, and she seemed to have gotten past the usual curiosity of others rather quickly, chatting happily with the others around her, her ears flicking as she laughs along with the other’s stories. 

Phil sips at his drink with a bored face, his attention going to a couple sitting beside him, their hushed voices getting more sharp as one of them seems to bring something up. He listens in, looking off into the fire as they argue.

“You can’t be serious. Surely not?” The man sitting beside Phil asks, leaning in close to his partner, eyes wide. “That’s got to be bullshit!”

“It’s not! We can check at the next village we come across, I swear, the priest will say the same thing-”

“You tell me this  _ now _ !?”

Phil raises his eyebrows as the two men bicker, getting so fired up to the point that the group around them tries to get them to calm. One of the men waves around a paper frantically, and Phil can’t quite see what’s on it, only red scribblings from what he can catch. 

It gets to the point of shouting and pushing, and at that point, Phil takes it upon himself to stand up, his wings shifting out a bit as he puts his cup to the side on the ground. 

“Woah, woah, mate, calm down.” Phil says, and everyone goes hushed when he gets to his feet. It’s not unusual, Phil’s always had that vibe. It could be the wings, he thinks, people seeing them and associating Phil with being powerful in some sort of way. It could be the way he’s not human, too, where sometimes his nails are just a little too sharp, and his eyes are a bit too bright, and it gets to a point where other travelers can’t hold eye contact with him, because he simply doesn’t pass for a ‘safe’ monster anymore. 

Sometimes it’s annoying. Sometimes it works in his favor. 

Either way, the couple looks away when Phil walks over to them, standing over them as they sit back down onto the ground. One of them still has that paper in his hands, crumpled in his grip. Phil feels curiosity burn in his chest, and he knows he’s going to get something out of this, one way or another. 

“What are you both yelling over? Surely you can work it out?” Phil grins, trying to keep a friendly voice, to lower the tension running in the air. The two strangers glance at each other, then to Phil, who gives a worried look to them both. 

He barely knows them at all, only knowing that they’ve agreed to stay the night with this small, makeshift group, but he knows they’re close to each other, from the way they’ve held on to each other throughout the entire night. Something that would make them go into an argument, Phil feels like it’s important. 

“Nick, he...he’s been hearing tales from the villages we’ve been visiting.” One of them says, looking away from his partner with a sigh. “And he’s only decided to tell me about the possible end of the world  _ now _ .”

Nick, who holds the paper in his hands with a hesitant face, shifts in his seat, leaning in towards his partner. “Well, it’s just recent, we don’t know-”

“What do you mean you don’t know, you just said that it would result in ‘total and utter despair and destruction’! Don’t sugarcoat it!” His partner snaps, waving his hands around as Phil holds back a snicker from the way he yells it. 

“I’m trying to be optimistic!” Nick yells back, his voice squeaking for a moment, and he pauses to clear his throat, turning to Phil, who gives a questioning face. “Okay, okay, you mind listening to me ramble for a minute or two?”

“Go ahead mate, if it’ll help with your relationship problems.” Phil grins, crossing his arms. Someone snickers behind him. 

Nick huffs, face a tad red as he smooths out the paper in his hands. “Bump in the road, I have a habit of delaying important details-”

“-end of the world shit, yes, that’s  _ definitely _ something you should just keep from me for a whole two fucking weeks-” His partner mutters under his breath, Nick sighing loudly before continuing. 

“ _ Okay _ , so, me and Lucas,” Nick nods a head to his partner, who stares off into the distance with a grumpy face. “We’ve traveled past more than a few towns in our, er, adventures. And each town, I tend to visit the churches, mostly because the priests there are usually kind, and I like a bit of luck and magic before we set off.” Nick shrugs, Phil humming and wrapping a hand around his necklace. 

“Lately, though, I’ve gotten a few stories that have been, well, overlapping, between the priests and the more magical people of the town, and it’s painting a story I’m not sure I want to hear.” 

Phil leans back on his heels, and he feels the warmth of the fire reach his wings, the people sitting around staring with a tense type of listening. There’s only been a handful of true tales and destinies written down in stone, and Phil’s heard them all before, they’re all a part of life. 

The dragon that resides in the End, the rare summoning of Withers across the lands,the mindless, dangerous, nocturnal creatures that seek to only hurt, and the somewhat common sight of people like Phil, human-like, but not entirely. 

It’s the way of life, in their world, and Phil knows it fairly well, a little too well, and he knows that the suggestion of something that important being brought up isn’t something to look over. 

“What, is there a new type of world out there, or, or, an undiscovered creature?” Someone asks, eagerness flowing from their words as Phil shakes himself out of his thoughts. 

“Not yet? I think.” Nick frowns, looking at the paper in his hands, sighing. 

Lucas next to him reaches a hand out for the paper, and Nick gives it over, Lucas skimming over the words and finally giving the story everyone is waiting for.    
  


“He’s been collecting tales from people across the towns we’ve been traveling in. So far, what he's gotten is that something big is coming, an apocalypse type of threat.”

“What, so, creatures like the withers?” The woman with horns asks, Phil stepping to the side as everyone leans in. 

“More.” Lucas says, face going dark. “Monsters specifically born to destroy and hurt. But not mindless, like the night ones. More like…” He trails off, eyes flicking to Phil. 

The woman with horns swears loudly, and the group around Phil raises up in voices, yelling over each other with concerns and questions, Nick trying to answer the best he can. 

Phil takes a few steps back, and no one sees him leave, and no one notices when he raises his wings out and goes into the sky, flying over the trees and out into the night. He’s tired, and he knows he shouldn’t push it too much, because it’s going to end with a terrible mood in the morning, but his curiosity burns, and he can only wonder with a slight concern in his heart over the thought of something that big. 

Half-monsters born only to create destruction in their path? It sounds like a cruel existence, and Phil knows more than anyone that every half-monster he’s ever come across wants only peace and equality. 

He’s one of the lucky ones, one of the nicer looking ones. He’s seen people with unnatural shaped mouths and unsettling apparences. He’s seen people like him with hissing voices and jagged scars across their face, only for those same people to be the sweetest, kindest people he knows. 

Sometimes, people like him have to face stupid people, people who are scared and act accordingly. Sometimes, the reputation of half-monsters gets hurt, from one stray tale of a desperate monster lashing out against cruel people. 

Phil can’t help them all, even if he’s one of the lucky ones, even if he’s one of the more ‘approachable’ ones, with features that makes most travelers admire him rather than be scared. 

But if this tale is true.

If this story is true?

He needs to do  _ something _ .

So he flies, over the trees and into the night, set on getting to the nearest village. And once he does, he will ask, he will find details, he will find more and more words and stories passed around, and he will keep looking. 

Because while such a story like that, the first thing that a usual traveler might focus on is the threat, Phil can only think about the pain of someone to become such a threat. 

So he flies. 

\---

He gets to the village as the sun comes up, the air cold around him as he lands in the grass far off, choosing to walk the rest of the way through the field to the scattered buildings. 

The grass is slightly wet underneath his shoes, and his back aches from flying the whole night, but he only yawns and tells himself that rest can wait, once he’s sure of this. 

There’s only a few people walking along the street when Phil gets to the village, and a few give him the usual glances onto his wings, and he can’t help the relief he feels when their eyes are full of awe rather than fear. 

His wings have that effect. He’s glad they do. 

He makes a beeline straight to the church building, the bells ringing out across the small town as Phil stalks down the stone path, eyes set ahead with a sense of determination in his walk. People seem to move out of his way when he gets close, and usually he would lighten up his tone, and not be so fierce, but he needs to know.

He knocks against the wooden doors of the church three times, sighing as he feels fatigue creep up on him. He rolls his shoulders back and raises his chin, satisfied when he hears a click of the door being unlocked, and the creak of the wood moving. 

The church is quiet, dim, and warm, and the priest is kind and soft-spoken, not even giving a glance to Phil’s wings, his necklace. On another day, Phil would be grateful. Instead, he gives his questions as soon as they’re both inside. 

He gets an answer.

Somehow, it’s not the answer he wanted.

\---

Sleep becomes scarce, in those weeks, as Phil flies from town to town, checking in people with all sorts of magic, visions and feelings. He carries around a journal, and writes down the details of it all, crafting together a proper telling. 

As he figures it out, he’s not the only one, because the stories spread, and travelers, common folk, kings and conquerors, the stories go across the lands as Phil lays it out for himself. 

Within a few weeks, Phil has met over a dozen different people from each village, and they all tell the same. 

Three children, three  _ monster _ children are to be born in the years to come. They’re supposed to be born with unimaginable abilities, powers that could destroy so much so easily. If they’re left to grow, the world as everyone knows it, it’ll fall into nothing but chaos.

As fear runs across the lands, so does a certain rushed panic, because from what the stories and visions and tellings say, the first one has already been born. 

And so everyone rushes to find it, so that the start of something terrible can be put to an end before it makes a mark.

People are desperate, in the way that one fights against a Wither so it’ll stop ravaging against their home, in the way that one rebels and defends with nothing much to lose except life itself. 

Phil is even more desperate and even more determined, and when he finds a lead on the first child, a small kid said to have bright pink hair, blood red eyes, Phil holds a knife to someone’s throat that night, and whispers threats, because he’s desperate to stop the sort of destruction everyone is terrified of. 

But he will  _ not _ end it through killing a child. 

He can only hope that he can find said child before anyone else does.

(And he will.)


	2. The Blood God is a lot less dangerous than you'd think, actually

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IF I JUST KEEP WRITING,,, THEN WRITERS BLOCK DOESN'T EXIST
> 
> yea yea I do be updating a story every day tho, WOO I am stupidly creative and I have too many story ideas, lets GO
> 
> enjoy

  
  
  


The first kid is rumored to be in a small, warm village, one that barely has any people at all, yet is never quiet. Specific details can’t be found out, and people just get vague descriptions of that same village, small, warm, but never silent. 

Phil flies to multiple towns, small towns with scattered buildings and roaring rivers beside them, and he searches for the description he has. Pink hair, blood red eyes. Should only be four years old, now. He comes up empty, even though the reports say the kid should be within the large area. 

Phil isn’t the only one searching, there’s plenty of travelers, hunters, specific groups sent on their way with the sole purpose of finding the same kid Phil is looking for. Phil has a slight advantage, with his wings, and he may be exhausted these days, but he can travel quickly, through the skies. 

Most of the stronger groups have their own horses and supplies, though, and they tend to catch up with Phil, a bit too quick for his comfort. 

Rumors go around that there’s a mysterious force protecting the first kid from being found. Really, it’s just Phil poisoning people’s water supply and making them get sick so he can get ahead. 

Phil comes up empty again on his third town, one where he was sure that he would find the kid, but there’s no one to the description there. The town is empty, too silent. It’s hot, the sun coming down in a wave of heat, and the dust kicking up under Phil’s shoes make him want to rest and take a drink. 

He continues looking around, instead, and he finds old broken houses that are warm and full of cobwebs. 

Walking into one of the homes, the door creaks loudly as he pushes it open, and the floorboards under him are covered with dust, dead bugs, and some stains that make Phil wonder who once fought here.

“Hello?” Phil says, and it resounds through the old house, the only sound that Phil can hear other than the creaking of the wood under his feet. “Is anyone here?”

It’s empty, of course, and Phil walks into the house with hesitant steps, eyes dragging over the broken bookshelves and books scattered across the floor. The windows are cracked, and old torches lay in the corner, not having been lit for so long. The roof over Phil’s head holds a giant hole, as if something crashed through it, leaving a crater beside Phil’s feet, a dip in the broken wood floor. 

He hears a hum. 

It’s not a person’s hum, not someone singing, but a consistent, low, humming noise, almost unnatural. Phil copies it for a moment, before looking around, trying to focus on where it is. 

He finds that it comes from right below him, and he takes careful steps around, the wood creaking in a way that he now knows is because they’re hiding something. 

Stretching his wings out as much as he can in the room he’s in, Phil takes an axe to the ground and bashes through the wood, flapping himself off the ground when it starts to crumble, crashing below loudly. 

There’s dirt and dust thrown into the air, and Phil wipes at his face, sighing at the hot air that kicked up with the floor falling, and lowers himself down to whatever he’s uncovered. 

He finds a nether portal, bright purple, surrounded by rubble and discarded weapons. It’s old, it’s cracked at the edges, but it’s still active. Phil wonders who made it, here, underneath an old town of all places. He wonders who fought here, who went through it. 

He stands in front of it, in the stuffy air surrounding him, staring at the purple glow for a few minutes as he contemplates if this would be a waste of time or a lead. He doesn’t have much time, he needs to keep searching, because he’s not the only one traveling the lands, but he’s the only one who seems to not want to end this in young blood. 

It doesn’t take long for him to go through it, sword gripped tightly in his hand. 

\---

It’s been a bit of a while since Phil’s been in the nether. He knows the place well, he has friends who live there, who hide there, and he’s gone there for resources time and time again. 

The heat of it all, and the way the netherrack cracks under his feet when he walks, it’s all familiar, he knows it too well. 

One thing that throws him off is the houses made from blue wood, far off in the distance. 

It’s a small village, barely enough to be even considered a village at all, and as Phil approaches it, he can see a few people walking around, in their day to day life. 

He keeps a distance, observing the village from afar, kneeling down behind a hill of netherrack, not wanting to bring attention to himself, with whatever this is. 

There’s cobblestone paths in between the houses, houses that are made from nether planks, wood that Phil recognizes is from the blue forests that reside here. The people look normal, human, and they’re all suited up in some sort of armor, walking quickly wherever they go, always on guard. 

A screech from a ghast distracts Phil, and he looks over to the sea of lava that’s not too far, far down below the ledge that this town and Phil is on. 

Phil’s mind swarms with questions, for how long this village has been here, why would anyone other than monsters be living here, but he doesn’t have long to think about it, because a fireball is coming his way. 

He dodges it easily, kicking himself into the air and swinging his sword at his side as the ghast screeches again. 

The fireball and explosion has given away the fact that he’s here, and he can see people staring from the village, not coming to help, only watching as Phil maneuvers through the air, swinging his sword against the next fireball and hitting it, so it’ll land somewhere where it won’t make too much damage. 

He has a bow on him, secured on his back, and he flies right towards the ghast, lava far below his feet as he grabs an arrow that’s tucked away, pulling back the bow. 

He dodges another fireball, and fires. 

It hits perfectly, and Phil didn’t expect otherwise, making his way back to solid ground, over to the village. The people still stay where they are, and Phil realizes it’s because of how the houses are placed, it hides them just enough from any other threats. Phil had been out in the open, from the portal. 

He glides over to the people, landing just a bit far off and putting his weapons away, making a slow walk towards them. 

When he gets close, there’s a moment of hesitant silence, as he scans the peoples faces, all surprised and full of relief. 

There’s a screech of another ghast far off, and Phil hears the sound of something burning high up, fires burning on and on above the village. 

A small town, warm, never silent. 

Who would’ve thought it would be in the nether?

Phil clears his throat, the people shifting and murmuring to each other, a few look near tears. 

“I’m looking for a kid, should be around four? Pink hair. Red eyes.” Phil says, and he gets nods and hurried glances in response. 

“Oh thank god, finally.” Someone says, walking up to Phil, and he freezes a bit as they wrap in a hug. He thinks they might be crying. He’s in a bit of an awkward situation. 

“Finally, someone’s here! Yes, we have it, its here, I’m so sorry we couldn’t end it ourselves, we just-” The woman takes a step back, wiping at her face, taking a moment to compose herself. “Oh, finally it’s over.” 

“Sorry?” Phil asks, tilting his head as he looks around, seeing a few people walk off into the village with a hurried pace. 

“The monster. We know about the apocalypse, the destruction it's supposed to bring.” She says, and Phil feels his heart go cold. 

“You know?” Phil repeats, feeling panic grips his heart, because they know, they have the kid and they’ve heard of it, so- “Is he alive?” Phil asks quickly, the woman nodding. 

“Yes. We couldn’t do it ourselves, so we’ve been waiting.” She says, and Phil can’t say anything in response to that, his mouth feels dry as the realization dawns over him that this kid, the kid who has so much in his destiny, has been living in a village who has been desperately waiting for just one traveler to come over and kill the kid. 

“Where is he?” Phil asks, and she sighs, giving Phil a smile before turning around. 

Phil looks with her, down the cobblestone path of the town, and he sees it, a small glimpse of pink hiding underneath a small crevice under a building, one of the villagers trying to coax him out. 

He’s so  _ small _ , is the only thing Phil can think, because the kid looks like he would only reach up to Phil’s knees, and he can see a tiny hand swipe out at one of the villagers, refusing to move.

Phil walks past the woman with a rushed pace, and she takes a double take before following at Phil’s heels, stammering out more of an explanation. Phil really doesn’t need it. The kid is here, and he’s alive. That’s all Phil needs.

“We know that it would be better for us to kill it when it’s younger, but we all couldn’t do it when he was smaller, and we can’t do it now.” She says quickly, as the two of them go down the path. “We’re just people who want to be left alone. The last thing we wanted was the responsibility of killing a kid.”

“Hm.” Phil gives a hum in response, the people taking a few steps back as Phil comes closer. “I’m glad you didn’t.” 

They stop in front of the little hole, and Phil kneels down, the woman taking a step back, everyone huddled around, far from Phil, watching with anticipation to see what he will do. 

Phil barely pays attention to the people around him. Instead, he looks to the hole in the ground, and sees small hands resting at the opening, then a head pops up, eyes glowing. 

The people behind Phil take a step back in fear, murmuring and on guard, wary. 

Phil thinks he might be dying. 

“Does he live there?” Phil asks, scooting closer, but not too much to spook the kid. Bright red eyes blink up at Phil, mesmerized, and Phil feels the same way, because there’s no possible way that the so-called ‘monster’ that’s supposed to bring death and destruction can be so...tiny.

He’s a pig hybrid, Phil can see it, the way his ears are pointed and the tusks just barely coming from his mouth. Maybe years from now, he would be appropriately terrifying, strong and deadly. 

But right now, at this moment?

He’s cute. 

There’s literally no other way Phil can describe him, with those bright red eyes. 

“Yes, it’s been under there for a while now. We still can’t get it out.” The woman behind Phil says, slight bitterness on her tongue. “We sometimes kick food under, out of mercy’s sake.” 

Phil nods, but he really isn’t listening, him and the kid locked in a staring contest. The kid looks away first, and it’s to stare at Phil’s gold hair, hanging loosely around his shoulders. 

“Are you going to kill it?” Someone asks, voice hesitant, and the village holds their breath as Phil moves closer to the little gap, hands reaching in to where the monster resides.

_ He’s a madman _ , some of them think.  _ He’s going to get his hand bitten off, he’s going to get killed _ . The people are dead-silent, frozen with fear as Phil leans forwards and reaches his arms in, a few people considering pulling Phil back for his own safety. 

It’s not needed, though, and Phil pulls the kid out of the hole, setting him on his feet. He stays kneeling on the ground, hands brushing off the dirt on the kid’s shirt, and the village has taken multiple steps back now, eyes wide. 

“Now what’s your name?” Phil asks quietly, as the kid stares at Phil’s hair, before reaching a hand out and yanking at it. “Ow-”

Someone in the crowd gasps, Phil thinks he might see someone actually faint, from how they’re acting, and he just turns his head to them, trying to get his hair to stop getting tugged at. 

“Uh, does he have a name?” Phil asks, grinning out into the crowd, who stare at him like he’s on his deathbed. 

“Technoblade.” Someone mumbles, and the crowd nods, murmuring amongst themselves. “The blood god, that’s his name.” 

“Ah.” Phil takes that in, a bit amused at the dramatic naming. But Techno turns his head when someone says it, and the crowd shrinks back, seeming to immediately regret saying his name at all. “Techno, then?” 

Techno turns back to Phil, and still has a hand tangled in his hair, Phil gently tugging his grip off before standing up. 

“Kill it now, quickly!” Someone whispers out, as Phil stretches his arms up, yawning. God, he needs a nap.

“Yes, hurry!” Someone agrees, and the crowd gives out words of encouragement, to hurry, do it now.

Phil resists the urge to scoff. 

“I’m not killing the kid, look at him.” He waves a hand to Techno, who stares at Phil’s outstretched hand, before grabbing Phil’s pinky with a loose grip. Phil has to clear his throat and keep his attention on the scared crowd as Techno turns Phil’s hand over, looking at it with curiosity. “He’s not going to hurt you.”

“He will! Maybe not now, but soon! You have to stop it while you still can! That’s why you’re here, aren’t you?!” The woman who led Phil yells, stepping in front of the crowd. 

Phil levels her with a blank look, blinking and letting her sit in suffocating silence, before glancing down to Techno, who looks up with those same bright, red eyes, oh, he’s just  _ adorable- _

“No.” Phil says simply, smiling down at the piglin. Techno gives an imitation of a smile back, baring his teeth and showing the small sharp fangs off. Someone does actually faint out of fear when he does that. 

Phil gently pulls his hand away from Techno, stepping in front of the kid. “I’m not here to kill him. I’m planning on taking him in, raising him.”

The crowd looks at him like he’s lost his mind. 

Phil couldn’t care less, because Techno behind him has noticed Phil’s wings, and he reaches a hand out to them, curiosity written all over his face. Phil shifts his feathers and snickers when Techno nearly jumps, surprised at the fact that the wings even move. Make sense, really, if the nether is all he knows. Phil will make sure that it won’t be forever, though. 

“Raise him..?” The woman trails off, and Phil turns his head back to the people, half of the crowd having retreated away from the lunatic that is Phil, the other half keeping far, far distance with wide eyes. “You want to care for a  _ monster _ , a creature that will tear apart life as we know it-?”

“I mean, mate,” Phil nods his head to Techno, who glances at the woman for a moment, the woman taking a small step back. “He’s just a little pig.”

She stares at Phil like he’s absolutely insane, and Phil is getting tired of these looks already, he’s itching to pick up the kid and leave. But she clears her throat, straightening up before trying to get it through Phil’s head again. 

“You do understand that you’re caring for the very thing that is meant to bring destruction and chaos to our world, right?” The woman asks, Phil looking behind him fondly as a tiny Techno grabs at the ends of his wings, fascinated by the feathers. 

“He’s just a child.” Phil answers distractedly, humming as his wings get gently yanked at. 

“He’s the first of three to destroy life as we know it! Shouldn’t we, well, get rid of him?!”

“Oh, no.” Phil raises his eyes back to the woman, a silent threat in his words. “Believe me, I have my own way of preventing the apocalypse.”

She stays silent at that, and Phil shrugs, turning to the kid again, who lets out a small squeal at Phil’s feathers getting pulled away from his reach. 

“Okay, Techno. Come on.” He kneels down, reaching his arms out, and Techno goes to grab his hair first, before staring into Phil’s eyes, Phil staring patiently back. Then he gets what Phil’s asking, and leans forward, wrapping an arm around Phil’s neck, but still keeping a hand in his hair. 

Phil’s not sure what the deal is with that. Maybe the kid is just grabby. 

Either way, Phil picks up Techno off the ground, sighing happily at the relief in his chest at finally having this kid out of danger, in Phil’s arms.

He turns to the woman, and the few people still scattered around, speechless at the fact Phil’s just picked up the thing they’ve perceived as a dangerous threat for the past few months.

“Well. Have a good day.” Phil waves a hand, then he’s off, flying up into the air.

He makes his way over the buildings and back to the portal, hearing some yelling as he goes, but he just ignores it in favor of looking at Techno, who’s holding on for dear life, looking very surprised at the fact they’re now off the ground. Not scared, though, and Phil’s glad for that. 

Phil ignores the screech of a ghast noticing them, and goes straight to the portal, holding on tight to Techno and going right through to the other side. 

It’s still dusty when he walks out, and he sneezes before flying his way up out of the broken basement, and he makes his way out of the house, into the sunlight and the blue sky. 

He walks away from the village, holding back another yawn and instead making some internal plans on where to rest for the night, going through the grassy field. 

Glancing down to Techno, he finds that the kid has his eyes squeezed shut, his face half hidden into Phil’s shirt, a death grip on a lock of Phil’s hair. 

“You can open your eyes now.” Phil says softly, and he only gets a small noise in response, Techno barely nudging. Phil stops where he is, looking around at the green field, peaceful and quiet, a gentle breeze flowing through. 

“There’s nothing scary. Look.” Phil whispers, and he holds Techno’s head close to his, Techno opening his eyes just the slightest bit to see Phil’s face. Phil glances up, and after a second, Techno copies, looking up as well. 

After that, he can’t get Techno to stop staring at the blue sky. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone in the world: This kid is threat to humanity
> 
> Phil, a minute after seeing Techno: I can't hear you I'm too busy loving my new son
> 
> lmao thanks for reading


	3. My son, my son

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh yeah, tiny Techno brainrot

One thing that Phil notices right off the bat after acquiring one Technoblade in his care, is that he’s very quiet. Observant, curious, and brave, no doubt, but he’s silent, never saying a word, and only making a few sounds here and there, a squeal whenever Phil doesn’t let him hold his hair right away, a small whine when he’s woken up from sleep. 

He can understand Phil just fine, he seems to know language as a whole, it’s only that he doesn’t say a word in response. 

Phil doesn’t mind. The kid is good company anyway. 

On the first three days of having Techno, Phil puts away his worries for the next kid, for the ongoing search that will need to continue, and works on gaining trust, because the last thing he wants is for Techno to be under his watch, but to not _trust_ Phil. 

Techno has a liking to gold, it seems, for when Phil looks through the gold coins in his bag, wanting to count and see what he has for the next town they’ll eventually travel to, Techno practically throws himself forward, reaching into Phil’s bag and nabbing at whatever coins he can grab in his tiny hands. 

He grabs a few handfuls, and tries to hold them all, even as they spill and fall onto the forest floor, and Phil laughs when Techno looks up at him with pleading eyes, as if he’s asking for Phil to help and to make the coins stop falling. 

“I need those, Techno, I was counting them.” Phil says gently, leaning forward and reaching for the few coins dropped in the dirt, collecting them up in his palm. Techno makes an annoyed noise as he drops another coin. 

They’re hiding out in the middle of a forest, a small campfire put to the side, a little bed of leaves on the ground. Phil doesn’t mind sleeping on the forest floor, he’s slept in worse places, and Techno seems to not have any problem with sleeping right on Phil, with Phil’s wings covering him and shielding him from the cold at night. 

The first nights are everything to Phil, and the first time Phil tells Techno to sleep, Techno lays down beside Phil, shoving his face into Phil’s shoulder and curling up into a ball, trying to be as small as possible. 

Phil can’t help himself in scooping up the kid into his arms, tucking Techno’s head under his chin and staring up at the stars, his heart squeezing as Techno falls to sleep, barely visible under the feathers, a hand holding onto Phil’s hair, even then. He’s so _small_ , and Phil swears over and over to any gods that are out there that he will give everything to make sure Techno will grow up safe. 

Phil sleeps lightly, these days, half so he’ll notice if Techno wakes up, half so he can run if they get found out by anyone else. He doesn’t know if word has traveled yet, of Phil taking the first kid, but he doesn’t want to take chances, so he travels carefully, stays vigilant. 

But for this morning, it’s quiet and calm, and Techno runs around the smoldering campfire when Phil tries reaching for his coins back, giving a weary smile at the piglin, who only blinks back, arms full of gold.

Techno has a liking to gold, for sure, and that seems to translate to why he grabs Phil’s hair so often, but it’s also not the only reason, because Techno seems to also have a liking to anything soft. 

Phil can’t imagine there’s anything soft and comfortable in the nether, especially in that little hole Techno had been residing in, so it makes sense in the way that Techno grabs onto his hair, or is fascinated with Phil’s wings, sticking his small hands into them when Phil’s asleep, Phil having to wake up to someone attacking his feathers. 

Even right now, Techno is entirely content, with Phil’s robe around his shoulders, coins falling over in his hands as he sits on the floor. 

Phil had been able to scrub most of the dirt off of Techno in a nearby river, and while Techno’s clothes looked ragged and worn, Phil told himself they would just have to work until he got new clothes from the next village. So he gave his outer layer of clothes to Techno, and while the fabric hardly fit, and it dragged on the floor as Techno moved around, he refused to let go of it, and the piglin rubs his face against the sleeves every now and then when he thinks Phil isn’t watching. 

Techno’s hair is pulled back neatly in intricate braids, courtesy of Phil and his knowledge of doing hair. Techno had enjoyed it when Phil tended to his bright pink hair, now clear of dirt, after Phil had washed it out. Phil had combed out the slight tangles with his fingers and wove them into a braid, and when he was done, Techno had turned and given Phil a confused look, as if asking why he had stopped tending to his hair. When he realized it was up in a braid, he ran his small fingers over it in wonder, then knelt up to Phil and tugged at Phil’s own golden hair. 

Small moments like that, little moments where Techno looks to him with thoughtful red eyes and reaches a hand out, it makes Phil’s heart rest easy, stress falling away for just a few minutes longer, because this isn’t the end, Phil still has two more kids to save, but Techno is a good distraction for a day or two. 

Phil enjoys the responsibility given to him, enjoys the way that he wakes up to Techno poking at his wings, and falls to sleep with Techno holding onto his hair. Techno follows behind him wherever he goes, watches with curious eyes at the side of the river when Phil is busy catching fish with the simple dagger he keeps on him. 

At one point, he tries holding his hand out to Phil with pleading eyes, wanting to hold the weapon, use it the way Phil does. Phil doesn’t hand it over, and only insists that Techno puts his feet in the water first, and when Techno squeals at the chill of the river, Phil laughs. After that, Techno doesn’t try asking for the dagger again, and glares at the rushing water like it’s cursed him. 

Techno doesn’t like the cold, Phil finds. Which makes sense, he runs warm, and comes from the nether as a whole, the chill of the night and the freezing river is something Techno has never dealt with, and it’s something he decides he doesn’t like. 

When he gets too cold at night, he hits a small fist against Phil until he wakes up, so that Phil will wrap his wings tighter around him and keep the night chill out. He absolutely refuses to leave Phil’s arms in the early morning, when the chill still hasn’t left the forest. 

The first time he saw the river was something Phil thought was hilarious, for Techno approached it like the water would reach out and bite him. He had actually panicked when Phil took off his shoes and walked into the moving water, Techno holding out his arms and making a distressed cry as Phil gave words of reassurement that he was fine. 

Techno wouldn’t follow Phil into the water, but he was fine with Phil carrying him over the rushing currents, and he stared at the river below him, at the few fish that swam by, and would look to Phil with questioning eyes, as if asking why the river was so quick. 

Phil tended to fill the silence between them by rambling on and explaining all he could about the world around him. Techno never had to ask a single question, and Phil would answer them all. 

“-it just keeps on going, the water moves along the rocks and it carries the fish through the forest, all the way to a lake, maybe, or even an ocean, and oh, I bet you won’t like the ocean that much, mate, it can be even colder than this, sometimes-” He had went on, carrying Techno over the river and pointing out the light blue of the currents. Techno had been able to stick a hand into the water after Phil explained what it was, but he did not like it at all, for it was freezing. He liked it even less when Phil had to scrub dirt off his face in the river, and he clinged to Phil for warmth as Phil continued to tell Techno of the ocean, of the water.

“-don’t go staring at the sun too much, it’s not good for your eyes. You can stare at the clouds though, look, see, they move through the sky, look at how they’re all so big, so vast-” Phil told, Techno turning his head down as soon as Phil warned against the sun, but hesitantly looking up again when Phil pointed a finger up to the clouds, and Techno pointed up a hand as well, staring at a bird flying high. 

“-that’s a cricket, mate. Hear it? They’re small little things, they can’t do much, but they love talking, late at night-” Phil whispered as Techno laid in his arms under the stars, eyes wide and wary as a cricket chirped near their campfire, Phil letting him know that the sound was just of a small creature, and nothing harmful.

“-and I know you’re not listening to this one, but I swear it seems like something you’d love. They’re all quite bright, up there, and the moon as well, constantly lighting up the night sky over our heads-” Phil murmured quietly, as Techno listened while half asleep, the two of them staring up at the sky through the trees. 

A few days of living in the forest, Phil’s gotten restless, and Techno has gotten tired of the food that Phil feeds him, simple greens found by the riverbank, a few fish caught out of the water. 

So Phil stretches his arms up with a yawn, and plans for the next village, and puts Techno to sleep early, while the sun is still up. 

Techno gives him a confused look when Phil lays down with him, and Phil explains that they need to travel, but it has to be at night, when they can move under the dark, and not be spotted. 

Techno seems to understand anyway, and shoves his head into Phil’s shirt, falling to sleep within minutes. Phil closes his eyes with him, and wakes up to the light night sky, sunset just barely ending, the last bits of sun fading away. 

Phil takes back his robe from Techno, checks his bag, lets Techno run a hand through the coins, and makes sure he has his knife on him, and he picks up Techno in his arms, stretches out his wings. 

“Remember the first day, Techno, where I had flown out of the portal?” Phil asks, looking up at the dim sky, Techno shaking his head. “No, you had your eyes closed, didn’t you? Keep them open this time, I swear, it’ll be okay.”

Then he’s off, and Phil leaves the ground with a grin, Techno holding onto his shirt with a death grip, leaning in as close as possible as Phil flies above the trees, above the forest. 

The land is beautiful, even in the dim moonlight, and Techno turns his head up and down, up to the clouds over their heads, down to the trees passing under them both. He looks to Phil with a toothy grin, copying Phil’s own expression. 

There’s a village not too far off, and it only takes a few minutes of flying before Phil sees the lights of the buildings, the stone paths of the streets. 

He lands nearby, and holds Techno close, walking quickly and silently, making his way around the back of the buildings rather than out in the street. It’s a small town, quiet with nightfall, and only a few people walk past, Phil making sure to avoid each one. Techno stays absolutely silent the entire time, and Phil knows it’s because he’s explained the danger of others finding him, he’s explained as kindly as he could, that other people can be dangerous and cruel, and that while there’s kind people out there, Techno needs to be careful. 

Techno hadn’t entirely understood that one, only stared at Phil’s wings, grabbed at the necklace around Phil’s neck, and stared on in silence, a thousand thoughts running through his head. 

Phil spots a small clothes shop soon enough, looking empty of customers but still open and he moves to it with light steps, making his way across the street. 

There’s a bell that rings as he walks in, and a person at the counter. The shop is full of fabrics and clothes on display, tucked away beside the walls, and Techno looks to the person at the counter, to the fabrics laying around, then looks to Phil and demands to be let down by hitting a small fist against Phil’s shoulder. 

“Okay, okay, mate! Go play, but don’t mess up anything.” Phil says softly, and Techno takes off running as soon as he’s put down, going to run his hands over whatever he can reach. 

The person at the counter is a bright young woman, smiling warmly as she sees Techno run off into the small shop, and she turns to Phil with a friendly nod. “Hello, welcome to Emi’s Fabrics.” She chimes, and looks to Techno again with a fond look as Phil puts his bag onto the counter in front of him. 

“Your son is cute. We don’t get much kids with the travelers these days, much less ones who are this excited over clothes.” She says, as Techno messes with the curtains by a small window. 

“He likes the texture of soft things, I think.” Phil shrugs, and the woman’s eyes glance to the wings on Phil’s back, looking shocked for a moment before catching herself. 

“Ah- well, that’s something I’ll keep in mind. I’m sure I’ll have some shirts his size that are soft enough.” She smiles, and Phil recognizes the small look of curiosity, of wanting to ask questions, because half-monster people, that’s always something others have questions over. 

“Do you have any shoes, as well?” 

“I believe I do, there’s quite a few stored in the back, we don’t usually put them on display, they tend to get stolen.” She nods, Phil glancing to the few outfits up on display, to the window in the front that shows off the clothes to the street. The window is half covered by a curtain, and Phil wants to pull the curtain all the way as a small group of people come down the street, torches in hand, and swords at their sides. 

“Now who is that?” Phil mumbles, and Emi hums, waving a hand. 

“A hunting group, looking for the blood god.” She explains, as if it's a normal occurrence, and it really must be, with so many in the lands looking for Techno. “People like them come through the village every now and then, the kid still hasn’t turned up, but they’re still searching.”

Phil watches as Techno fiddles with the curtains, and he holds a hand out, whispering harshly. “Techno. Stay away from the windows.” 

Techno freezes, and as does the woman at the counter, eyes going wide. Techno takes a slow step back from the end of the curtain, then moves forward again, moving the curtain all the way so the display window isn’t showing through, the inside of the shop hidden from the people in the street. He looks to Phil to see if that was alright, and Phil nods, smiling. Techno goes to close the other curtains. 

“I’m sorry, I, uh.” She clears her throat, smiling. “What, is your son’s name, may I ask?” 

Phil glances to Techno, who closes the curtain of the other small window, then goes off to play with some fabrics hanging off a nearby table. 

“Techno.” Phil answers, reaching down under his coat. 

“Techno…” She trails off. Her smile is strained. “Lovely name. I, do you mind if I grab something from storage-” She goes to move her arms away from the counter, eyes looking at Techno, Techno, with his pink hair, pointed ears, small little tusks-

Phil moves quickly, and stabs his dagger into the counter, right where the woman’s sleeve is, and he leans in close, talking quietly. “Technoblade. His name is Technoblade, and I know _very_ _well_ who he is. And I know _you_ know who he is.” 

She looks at Phil with wide eyes, taking in a shaky breath, eyes flicking to Techno and back to Phil. “You- there’s a cursed child in my shop, you’ve brought a dangerous beast into my shop-?”

“He’s really not that dangerous, mate.” Phil says tiredly, looking to Techno, glad to see that the kid is busy playing with the ends of hanging shirts, not noticing Phil threatening the shop owner with a knife. “Let me make this clear. I’m here to get some new clothes for my son, some new shoes, then we can go on our way.”

“Your _son-_?!” She whispers back, leaning in with a face of disbelief. “That thing cannot be your son, listen, there’s those men outside, for the good of everyone, let’s just-”

Phil narrows his eyes. “You try calling for those hunters, you’re going to lose a finger.” 

She only gives an unimpressed look and responds snarkily, and Phil likes her for the fact that she’s definitely panicking, yet still says a response that makes Phil want to roll his eyes. 

“Ah, lose a finger or lose my life, which one do you think I prefer?!” She whispers, Phil raising his eyebrows. 

“Really? Look at him. He’s tiny.” He waves a hand to Techno, who’s currently running his hands along the layers of a coat, marveling at the fluffy material at the ends of it. “Do you honestly believe he’s going to hurt you?”

She looks conflicted for a moment, then, “The stories-”

“Yes, yes, the tales, the destiny, I know.” Phil leans back, keeping a loose grip on the knife stuck into the counter, and reaching into his bag, grabbing a single coin. “Watch.” He says to her, and turns his head to Techno. 

“Techno. Look, come here.” Phil calls, and Techno looks at Phil, and spots the coin in his hand, then runs over, nearly tripping over his feet. He runs into Phil’s legs, then reaches a hand up to the coin Phil’s holding, hopping up once, twice, tugging at Phil’s shirt. 

The woman leans over the counter to look at Techno, and blinks in shock at the sight of Techno just wanting the coin, giving a frustrated face to Phil when Phil only keeps holding it up too high. A small squeak comes from the kid, and Phil hands the coin over, Techno grabbing it and running off, sliding under a table. 

“...a coin.” Emi says softly, and Phil hums. “The blood god has been tamed with a single _coin_.” 

“He likes gold.” Phil says, turning his head to the woman again as she stares at the table Techno’s under. “And soft things.” 

She looks at him with an absolutely confused face, and Phil just smiles. 

“So, do you think you could get some clothes and shoes for him, so we can get on our way? Because it really isn’t safe for us to be out right now, with him.” Phil asks, and for a moment, she looks to the wings on Phil’s back, lost in thought. 

Then she sighs, looking at her sleeve still stuck to the counter with a knife, and looking at Techno again. “Alright. But once you leave, you know I’ll have to tell others of this.”

“That’s fine. I can keep him safe.” Phil responds, and pulls the knife out of the counter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *drops this at your feet* do ya like it?
> 
> I feel like my writing is kinda all over the place, but that is OKAY because I am here to just get the words out, and hopefully they are out in a way that is pleasing.
> 
> But yes. Tiny Techno. He will be very strong and dangerous one day. 
> 
> But right now he just want coin, soft things, and Phil's hugs, and you know what, valid.
> 
> Thanks for readin!


	4. What makes a monster?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoo boy

They move to the small room in the back, mostly full of boxes of storage, chests of supplies, and Phil keeps watch with Techno trying on different clothes, clean, new clothes. And while it’s wonderful for Techno to finally have something that isn’t just rags from the nether, it’s still a bit of a pain, because the first shirt they try doesn’t quite fit, too long past the arms, but Techno refuses to take it off, getting attached to the first thing that’s an upgrade from his old clothes. 

He nearly whines when Phil tugs the shirt off, and he sits on the floor with an angry look, upset that his soft fabric has been taken away, however, he does raise his head when Phil raises up another option. 

Phil has to coax him with the promise of a gold coin to be patient, and he tells Techno about clothes needing to actually _fit_ , not just be soft, and while Phil gets narrowed eyes and a frown in response, Techno listens. He’s still upset whenever Phil swaps out a new shirt, though, and so Phil tries to keep the options short. 

Emi eyes Techno the entire time they try outfits on, hesitant and wary, as if any second from now, Techno will snap and murder both her and Phil. She walks over with a pair of shoes, places them at Phil’s side, then quickly walks off, eyes still wary, still staring. 

Techno doesn’t seem to notice, too entranced with the next shirt Phil’s tugged over his head, and he grips a gold coin in his tiny hand as he wraps his arms around himself, enjoying the change in fabric, looking up at Phil as if asking if this one suffices. It doesn’t, it’s too small, and Techno hits his head against Phil’s arm when Phil goes to tug it off again. Phil only laughs. 

They settle on a pair of black shorts, falling just over his knees, and nice long sleeved white shirt, and Techno doesn’t let Phil help button it up, whacking his hands away to try doing it himself. It takes a moment, but he gets it, and Phil gives an appropriate smile when Techno looks up at him for a reaction. Techno smiles back when he realizes he gets to keep this shirt. 

After that, they grab some soft white socks, which Techno absolutely adores, kicking Phil in the gut a few times to get Phil to notice, as if Phil wasn’t the one to put them on for him.

The shoes, though, those weren’t so easy. 

Phil’s sat Techno down on a small wooden bench pushed against the wall, and he grabs a pair of boots that Emi had brought along. Kneeling in front of the kid, he ignores the way Techno stares at the shoes with a face, and is relieved to find that they fit just fine, tugging them onto Techno’s feet. 

Techno doesn’t like it. 

“No, Techno, mate, shoes are important-” Phil tries saying, holding Techno in his arms, Techno kicking his feet wildly to try and get the boots off, having quickly jumped off the bench to try throwing the boots off. He doesn’t seem to mind Phil holding onto him, keeping him still, he just hates the boots. 

Emi lingers in the doorway of the backroom, and watches with curious eyes as Techno gives something along the lines of a tantrum, except without the crying and screaming. He just won’t stop kicking.

“-what if the ground gets too cold to walk on? Or too hot? You need shoes to actually _help-_ ” Phil says, keeping an arm around Techno, reaching down to Techno’s leg to tug at one of the boots, which look dangerously close to being kicked off. 

“No!” Techno says, half muffled in Phil’s shirt, and Phil goes still, because that’s the first word he’s heard Techno even say, ever since he’s picked him up from the nether. In his shock, Techno kicks a boot off, sending it flying away, hitting the wall before it lands on the ground with a thump. 

“No?” Phil repeats, grinning down at Techno, who makes a frustrated noise, trying to kick off the other boot. 

“ _No_!” Techno says again, and nearly kicks the other boot off, Phil pulling it off for him instead, putting it to the side. _Then_ Techno calms down, and seems content with leaning against Phil, still kicking his legs, but just absentmindedly, rather than in a way of trying to get shoes off. He nods to himself, seeming content.

“No, no.” Phil says fondly, tugging lightly at the small ponytail behind Techno’s head, Techno whining. “Why not?”

He waits for a response, Techno staring at him, before leaning forward and face planting into Phil’s shoulder, like that will make them move on. 

“Technoblade.” Phil snickers, gently pushing at Techno to sit back up. “Why not? Do they not fit?”

Phil wonders if maybe Techno just isn’t used to shoes, after being barefoot for so long. It makes sense if he would hate them then, there’s a slim chance Techno ever tried on shoes over in the nether. However, Phil can’t just let Techno go without any, because if they’re going to be moving, Techno needs to be walking, and while Techno hates the boots, Phil thinks that Techno would also hate having something poke him in the foot.

Techno tries to hug Phil again, and Phil has to hold back a laugh at the look he gets in response at stopping him, Techno acting as if Phil’s committed treason, done something unthinkable. 

“Mate, you can’t just frown your way out of shoes.” Phil says, Techno frowning even more intensely. “Do you just not like shoes?”

“I don’t want ‘em.” Techno shakes his head, sentence coming out quick and mumbled, and Phil raises his eyebrows, not being able to stop the grin on his face. 

“You don’t want boots? Or just shoes in general?” Phil asks, patient, reaching over to grab the boot he’s put aside. The other shoe is still across the room, from Techno kicking it off. 

Techno makes a face, eyeing the boot in Phil’s hand. 

“You need shoes, Techno.”

“No.” 

“I can’t just carry you everywhere.” 

Techno really frowns at that, scrunching his nose. 

Phil laughs quietly, smiling wide, and Techno stares at his face with a thoughtful look, then goes still as a bell rings out. Phil stills as well, eyes going wide as there’s footsteps in the front of the shop, the bell ringing again as the door opens. 

Emi is still by the doorway, and she glances to Phil, who wraps his arms and wings around Techno, eyes wide, nearly pleading. 

She walks out to the counter, Phil holding his breath. Techno is absolutely silent under him. 

“Hello! Ah, this is the clothes shop, right?”

“Yes, I-” Emi pauses, Phil looking around for anywhere to just run, but there isn’t a backdoor over here, and if he wanted to get away with Techno, he would have to go through whoever just walked in. It’s a matter if the lady is going to scream for help or not, and Phil slowly and quietly gets to his feet, Techno holding onto his neck. Phil keeps a hand on the knife at his side, staring at the doorway. “You’re at the right place! However, I regret to inform you, we are closed.”

Phil feels the tiniest amount of relief in his chest, but he doesn’t relax, still waiting for the worst scenario. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone in order to get out, but that doesn’t mean he’ll hesitate. 

“The door was open, though…?” The traveler asks, voice trailing off. 

“Was it?” Emi says, voice full of false cheer, polite and chipper. “Oh, I must’ve forgot to lock it. But, as you can see, I did close the curtains, and I was just in the back, checking storage.” 

Phil allows himself a small smile, happy to know he’s being covered, and he makes a mental note to leave a tip for her kindness. 

“I’ll be quick.” The traveler offers, Emi laughing. 

“You can be here in the morning, bright and early, and I’ll be sure to sell you some deals then. However, I will need to ask you to go now. I do need to head home.”

“Aw, worth a shot. Thanks anyway.” 

“Mhm-hm.” And there’s the sound of footsteps, and the bell of the door. 

Phil waits, and hears footsteps coming along again, Emi appearing at the doorway, looking conflicted as she sees Phil, standing in the middle of the small room, holding Techno in his arms, Techno barely visible under his feathers. 

He folds his wings back, rubbing a hand over Techno’s back, giving a small smile. 

“Thank you.” Phil whispers, Emi sighing. 

“I don’t know why I did that.” She admits, leaning against the doorframe. 

“I’m glad you did either way.” Phil says, putting Techno down. 

They move on from the tense moment, Phil having to coax Techno to put on his boots, coming to an agreement that Techno will put on the shoes just before they leave, but for now, as he goes through a pile of warm coats, he can just stay in his socks, and be left to choose on which one he wants. 

Phil stands to the side, holding the small boots in his arms as Emi stands beside him, staring at Techno, who’s running his hands along the different types of coats laid out, making a face at a particularly scratchy one. 

“You know one day he’s going to be dangerous. He’s going to grow up.” Emi says, hesitantly, trying to warn Phil of what’s to come. She sees Techno now, fussing with the fabric, rubbing his face against wool, and only sees potential for something that can become terrible. 

Phil sees differently. “Ah, my heart won’t be able to take that. I’ll be thinking back on this, wishing he was small again.” Imagining Techno grown up, taller than Phil, maybe, that kind of thought just makes him smile.

Emi turns her head to Techno again, crossing her arms. Techno’s struggling to put on a jacket, and once he finally has his arms through the sleeves, he keeps it on for a solid three seconds before deciding he doesn’t like it, taking it off and throwing it to the ground. “...he’s almost like a kid.” Emi quietly murmurs. 

“He is a kid. Full through.” Phil nods, giving a bright grin to Techno when Techno looks up to him, pointing at the jacket on the floor, and then kicking it to the side. Phil gives a thumbs up in understanding. Techno moves on. 

“He’s a monster in the making. I don’t know if you realize that, but you’ve signed yourself up for more than you can think of.” Emi turns her head to Phil, who only looks on at Techno. 

“I signed myself up to take care of him. To protect him.” Phil response, voice calm. 

“He’s a threat to the world!” Emi whispers harshly, eyes glancing to Techno for a split second. 

Phil sighs, then turns his head to the woman, looking done. “He’s a kid who’s been saddled with a bullshit prophecy, and is being hunted down for simply existing. He’s done nothing wrong.”

“And if _you’re_ wrong? If one day he goes against you, snaps at you? What then? How are you going to defend him when he’s killed and has blood on his hands? There’s a reason his name is ‘Blood God’.”

And how Phil wishes it wasn’t. He makes a mental note to keep the other two kids from being named anything along those lines. Techno’s already processed his name, responds to it. Phil won’t put him through the confusion and work of forcing a new name onto him. But for the other kids, he wants to get there soon enough so they don’t have to have such a name that promises destruction. 

“I don’t think you get it, mate.” Phil says, watching as Techno pokes around at a certain blue coat, eyes curious. “It doesn’t matter what he does. Anything that happens, either tomorrow or years from now, I’ll still watch over him. I’m still going to love him.”

“...you’re a little insane.” Emi says in response. 

“Maybe.” Phil admits, watching as Techno finds a coat that has fluffy wool on the inside of the hood, looking ecstatic “But I just know, he doesn’t deserve to be killed for simply existing. I’ll raise him well, even if it means it’ll end up in me being dead.”

“Will you regret it then, after he’s killed you?” Emi asks, almost bitterly. 

“No.” Phil smiles, Techno turning to him with a hood over his head, a new coat on. “No, I won’t regret it at all.”

\---

They leave the shop soon after, new clothes, new boots, and Emi giving them a half wave and some words before they go. 

“I’ll have to tell others of this, in the morning. I didn’t sell you out earlier, because, I just-” She says, standing by the door, the night sky full of stars over their heads.

“It’s alright. I’ll be long on my way by then.” Phil nods, Techno in his arms, frowning at the fact he has shoes on. But he’s happy with the coat he’s picked out, and after Phil says his goodbyes, they’re both off, flying into the sky.

Phil’s set to go as far as possible from the village, from where he found Techno. He needs to wait for Techno’s reputation to simmer down, for people to eventually give up on finding him months later. He knows that he’s going to end up in tales, stories passed from person to person, a winged traveler taking the kid meant to destroy them all, and taking it in as a son. 

Personally, he doesn’t mind it. Finds it a bit funny, if anything. 

So he flies, off to another village far off, hoping to make it there and rest up, pass time traveling and exploring until the location of the next kid can be found out. 

\---

The months pass rather quickly, for Phil. They land in the village, find an inn to stay, Techno’s face and hair hidden away under his hood, into Phil’s shirt, and they spend the night in a proper bed, Techno stealing the pillow. 

They stay in the village for a little while, a few days, Phil talking with Techno, walking him through the town, letting him explore and see, and learn. 

Phil’s never been much of a teacher, and as much as he can try, he’s not exactly the best at teaching Techno to read, write. But there’s a library, near the inn, and Techno runs his hands over the bookcases, flips through pages, not a clue on what they mean, what they say. 

Phil reads to him. Reads story after story, night after night, and Techno listens on and on, never sleeping until Phil’s finished the chapter, and even then, he still asks, (quietly, sparefully, his words come more often, but he’s still soft spoken) for another one. One night, Phil complies, and he ends up reading all the way up to sunrise, passing out on the bed, waking up to Techno running his hands over the pages, trying to make sense of the letters for himself, since Phil won’t do it for him.

He goes to the librarian, then, who’s a kind, sweet old lady, observes Phil’s wings with a sad type of fascination, holding onto his arm as if Phil’s gone through too much. Phil’s been through plenty. But he’s not too upset over it. 

She agrees to help Techno learn, and Techno is wary, refuses to sit by her, only with Phil, and they work it out in the first few weeks, the woman having to sit across the table, Phil sitting beside Techno as they work through letters. 

Technoblade picks it up fast, and seems determined to copy the librarian's neat handwriting exactly. She’s a fancy type of writer, her letters curved and neat, pretty to look at, and Techno refuses to try writing any other way, trying again when he doesn’t write an A the same way she does. 

Phil only smiles, and watches in silence for those weeks, as Techno listens quietly to the lady, practices back at the inn, on the floor with papers all around, pencil scribbling away, writing the letters over and over, neat, curved. 

They move to reading, sounding out letters, and Techno goes from stumbling over sentences to quickly moving on to actual books. It becomes so that _he_ reads Phil to sleep, instead, Phil listening to Techno speak quietly, stutter over a word here and there late at night. 

They stay in the town for over half a year, which turns into a whole year, too quick, too fast for Phil, who watches Techno grow and learn, and eventually come out of his shell. He’s still shy, that just seems to be his personality, wary of anyone who isn’t Phil, careful around people he does know, like the kind old librarian, or the smiley baker who Phil always buys treats from. 

He’s a quiet kid, to most. But he loves to ramble to Phil, late at night, asking and asking, and still grabbing at Phil’s hair. He doesn’t tug it, not anymore, but he sometimes attempts to braid it, like how Phil does with Techno’s hair, always tying it back in a neat, pink braid. 

Phil’s had plenty of experience with hairstyles, so Techno’s hair is always nice looking. And Technoblade insists on learning, and Phil lets him, guides him through it. 

They stay for a while, in that town, and it makes a mark in Phil’s heart, memories all around. He doesn’t want to stay in place, wants to keep moving, wants to be wary, but this town is far, rather isolated, in the trees, and they don’t have a priest, or anyone with magic to tell of Technoblade’s tale. The people know it, of course, they know of the ‘Blood God’, it’s been spread too far to not know it. But Techno, Techno is just the shy little kid who’s always hugging Phil’s legs whenever they linger in a shop. They’re none the wiser.

Techno needs somewhere to properly grow up, to learn, so Phil decides to live in the town for about two years, Techno growing up, learning. It’s a temporary living space, and Phil knows it, because they will need to move one day, for the next kid. Technoblade knows that much, has heard it from Phil before, of how he’s not the only kid Phil needs to take care of. 

But for those two years, Technoblade stays content, a kid. 

Until the voices start. 

It’s slow, at first, Techno seeming distracted during lessons, trailing off during reading, staring off into space when they’re walking around town. Then it’s unsettled sleep, waking up to Techno gripping onto Phil with a tight hug, crying quietly. 

Technoblade gets jumpy, becomes hesitant, and Phil asks, asks over and over, for Techno to tell, to tell him what’s wrong, and Technoblade just stays silent, even when Phil’s on his knees, holding onto Techno’s hands with worried eyes. 

It’s a whole two weeks, growing progressively worse, and Techno clings onto Phil, eyes wide in fear, still staring into space, and Phil tries his best to help, tries his best to hug him at night, sing quietly and try and lull the kid to sleep. He’s not the best singer, but he knows small songs, here and there. Techno enjoys them, at least, and it helps, just a little. 

Technoblade throws himself into reading, inhaling books at an unreasonable pace, and Phil can’t seem to tear his eyes away from the words, and he decides to let Techno keep his nose stuck in a book, for it at least calms him down a little, makes him less unhappy. 

Then the hunters come, two weeks after the voices do, when Techno is just eight. 

Phil’s in the bakery, talking with the people at the counter, debating to get maybe a small cake, for Techno, who sits outside, a book in his hands. The bakery is a little loud, with the sound of people shuffling, ovens burning, and so he doesn’t notice, right away. He notices too late.

Technoblade reads outside, sitting on the ground, as two new people walk into town, notice him. They’re friendly, kind, and one kneels down to Techno to strike up a conversation, grinning brightly. 

He pulls Techno’s book down, smiling warmly, then sees Techno’s blood red eyes, wide, and slightly unhappy that he’s been interrupted in his reading. 

A knife gets pulled, a book gets dropped, and Technoblade hears one of them mutter ‘Blood God’. 

His head is too loud, too quick, and he’s being grabbed by the shirt, wanting to scream as his head explodes in chants, too many voices to even process, and-

Phil turns as he hears screams, and his heart drops, quickly making his way outside, pushing the door open, grabbing his knife as soon as he sees Techno’s book discarded on the ground, and he pauses, stays, lingering in front of the bakery, as screams sound out around them, the townspeople in shock. 

“Oh.” Phil breaths out, putting his knife back, quickly. “Oh, no.” 

Techno stands over two bodies, a bloody knife in his hand, tears streaming down his cheeks, and he’s shaking so bad, a hand held to his head as he realizes what he’s just done. 

He turns to Phil, and drop the knife, shaking his head. 

“Phil, Phil, I didn’t- I didn’t mean to- I’m-” Techno stammers, Phil rushing over, kneeling down, wrapping Techno up in his arms. “-they wanted blood, they kept wanting blood, I just wanted it to be quiet, dad, I didn’t-” 

Phil’s heart hurts at the ‘dad’ stuttered out, and he looks at the damage around, the travelers looking to be killed quickly, cut across the throat. They probably didn’t expect Techno to be so fierce. That ended in their demise, starting a fight with something they didn’t know of. 

“Who asked for blood?” Phil asks quietly, pulling back, keeping his hands on Techno’s shoulders. The townspeople are circling around, now, realizing, becoming a threat, but Phil needs to know. 

“-I tried to stop, I tried to deny it-” Techno sobs, Phil shushing him, holding a hand to his face. 

“Who?” He asks again. 

“I was- there’s-” Techno takes a shuddering breath in, hands in Phil’s hair, smearing blood to them. “Voices, in my head. They just weren’t being quiet, and I thought I had _got_ it, but those- they- he had a knife, and it got so _loud-_ ” 

“It’s alright.” Phil reassures, pulling Techno into his arms again, getting to his feet, picking Techno up off the ground. “It’s alright, now.”

Except it isn’t, because there’s two dead bodies on the ground, a bloody knife with them, and the people around them are starting to realize just who the ‘Blood God’ is.

“Phil.” Someone says, reaching a hand out. “Look, your son, he’s not who you-”

“Stay back.” Phil warns, taking a step backwards, Technoblade crying quietly into his neck, holding onto his hair. “I know exactly who he is.”

“You knew this would happen?!” Someone screams, angry, fearful. 

“I thought-” _that I could stop it_ , Phil thinks, but he doesn’t say it outloud. He can’t stop this. This, already, this is going to spread, going to cause more fear of Techno, is going to make life hell. 

He’s going to work with it, Phil decides. Even with the added effort, if there are voices, willing Techno to do this, then he’s going to find a way to quell them. 

But the others won’t care for that. No one cares for that. They only make steps towards Phil, carefully, caring, as if Phil didn’t know his son would turn out like this. Phil’s known all along. And he’s not any less loving of the kid in his arms, nor any less protective. 

“Listen, Phil.” They say, Phil raising his wings out, glancing around. “Hand him over. I’m so sorry.”

“Stay back.” Phil warns, and he pulls his knife, holding Techno close, holding the blade out in front of him. “Stay back, right now! You’ll end up like them if you touch him!”  
  


There’s glances to the dead bodies on the ground, and Phil, for a second, feels remorse for their deaths, then quickly moves on. They went after a _child_ , who was just reading peacefully on the ground. They pulled a knife on him. Phil doesn’t care for that. He knows it’s a bit fucked up, maybe. He doesn’t care. 

“Be rational, Phil.” The baker says behind him, and Phil turns around, nearly screams as someone grabs at his arm, grabs for Techno, and he swipes the knife down, cutting into someone’s arm. 

“Don’t you _dare_ fucking touch him!” Phil steps back, the crowd following. “Leave him alone! You’ll be sorry, otherwise!” 

Then he raises his wings out, and flies, before anyone else can make another grab for him. He flies, away from the disaster that was, and holds onto Techno, gritting his teeth as the kid lays silient in his arms. 

\---

They land, hours later, Techno quiet, still, as they land in a field, no one around for miles. 

Techno spaces off, and Phil brushes his hair back, carefully puts him down onto the grass. His hands are still covered in blood. It hurts Phil to see it. 

“How’s your head, Techno?” Phil asks, kneeling down, and Techno takes a moment to respond, looking up with a distracted air to him. 

“...it wasn’t enough.” Techno says quietly, looking near tears again. “They still want blood, they don’t care whose, Phil-”

“Hush.” Phil says gently, and reaches for his knife, pulling it out and trying to give it to Techno. Techno jolts back like Phil’s burnt him. 

“NO!” Techno screams, falling back, scooting back as Phil walks towards him. “No, no, I’m not-!”

“You’re not going to hurt me, Techno.” Phil says, and he’s fully sure of that. “I’m not going to make you hurt me.” 

Techno stills, Phil reaching a hand out, and Phil pulls him back onto his feet, still flinching when a knife gets put into his hands. 

Phil turns him around, points the knife up, as if Techno is about to fight against the wind, and holds his arms around Techno, hands around his, as Techno nervously glances back at him. 

“You have voices, right? In your head.” Phil says quietly, by Techno’s shoulder. Technoblade nods. 

“They’re loud.” Technoblade admits, and he sounds so miserable, it makes Phil wish he could have helped sooner. 

“Then quiet them.”

“They want blood.” Techno says distastefully, grimacing. 

“Do you want to give them that?”

Techno answers lighting quick. “No.”

Phil raises the knife in Techno’s hand, points it up at an invisible enemy. 

“It’s _your_ head. Your mind.” Phil says, calm. “So, quiet them.” And he lets go, Techno taking a deep breath in. 

Then Techno lunges, swings, swipes like he’s about to be killed, fighting against nothing, just the wind and air, and he fights in a way Phil didn’t think he’d be able to, with his size. 

It goes on for a while, Techno screaming, sometimes, nearly crying. 

Then he stops, stills, breathing heavily, staring off into the grass. And he runs to Phil, wrapping his arms around his neck, crying. 

Phil finds that the voices become quieter than they have been for the past two weeks. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chap is a bit later than planned because my WIFI WENT OUT
> 
> but here we are. Hope you liked it :D


	5. Hiding in plain sight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EYYY its been forever since I updated this geez
> 
> forgive me, have this chap

They spend the night in the safety of a dark forest, a bed of leaves, but no fire. Phil doesn’t want to risk the smoke giving them away. He’s wary, and rightfully so. 

Technoblade sleeps against him like in the first days of when Phil found him, and he curls up against Phil to hide away from the night cold, Phil keeping him hidden under his wings. 

Phil doesn't sleep, but listens to Techno’s quiet snores as he stares up into the stars, mind plagued with thought. 

Being surrounded by the townspeople like that, the chance of Techno being ripped away from him being too high, it was terrifying. Terrifying in a way Phil doesn’t think he’s ever felt. 

He’s been alive for a long time, he’s seen a lot. He’s nearly died countless times, he’s killed countless more. All those moments with his heart racing, him thinking ‘is this it?’, with wounds bleeding out, it was absolutely nothing compared to the horror of  _ losing _ Technoblade. 

Especially when he was so vulnerable. He had been crying, broken, in Phil’s arms, and yet the townspeople had looked at Phil like he was given such a burden, having a child that’s cursed. Looks of pity. Like Phil had no choice but to give his child up, because how could he keep a  _ cursed _ child?

Curse or not, Phil doesn’t care. Prophecy comes true or not, he doesn’t  _ care _ . 

Fear crawls up his throat and chokes him as he holds Techno tight, and it’s not fear over Technoblade becoming exactly what everyone warns of. He should be scared of that, he should be wary. He should be thinking of the greater good. Technoblade shows potential to kill, to hurt and he should be terrified of the possibility of the kid in his arms one day turning against him.

But all he can feel is desperation, and he finds that he’d rather watch the entire world burn, with him in it too, rather than give this child over in his arms. 

All he can feel is fear of being ripped away and having no say on if Techno gets to live, and he promises over and over in his head, to the skies, to gods he knows are out there, please,  _ please _ don’t let that happen. 

But even with all the pleads in the world, Phil knows for a fact that tears and begging aren’t a sure way to protect something. 

So he makes a different promise. 

And he holds Techno close that night, mind thinking of him, and of the other two kids that need just as much help as Techno. And he promises that he will not let the world kill them. 

And if the world refuses, and continues to try and hurt them, then Phil will resort to the violence they crave. He doesn’t enjoy killing, he would rather pick mercy, rather than go through with having to take a life with his hands. 

But he’ll easily do it if he has to. If he has to, then he can kill a hundred men. If he has to, he will kill a hundred more. 

It’s too late to think about the things he will do for his kid, and for the other children to come, and so he holds Technoblade close to his chest, hearing him mumble something, quietly in his sleep, and tries to think about something else. 

His mind wanders to the next child. 

The town Phil was in had been bliss, growing and having a nice, calm life for what felt like so long. But even with the growth it gave, and even with the safety it held, fear stabs into Phil’s heart, as he wonders if he’s too late. 

He hasn’t heard about the next child for the prophecy. There aren’t any priests in that village, there weren’t any magic users, any monsters. Travelers would come and go, but never brought tales like that with them. 

It was a blessing, at first, having an escape from it, keeping the prophecy away, but now Phil feels like an idiot, because what if he’s too  _ late _ ?

He needs to find them. Quickly, soon. 

Technoblade still needs to learn how to deal with the voices in his head, with the demand for blood that plagues him, but Phil can multitask. He can help Techno and search, they can learn on the way.

Phil pauses for a second, and wonders when exactly he became so set on becoming a father. 

That revelation is somehow more crushing than everything else, and it’s not entirely in a bad way, but it makes him feel like crying and being emotional, so he closes his eyes to try and get some rest. 

He opens his eyes to daylight, and he wakes up to Techno holding onto his hair, already awake, head resting on Phil’s chest as he stares off into the trees, seeming bored but content. 

Phil smiles, then quickly sits up, scooping Techno up in his arms and ignoring the shriek of surprise that comes with it, instead just hugging Techno with a grin, pressing a kiss into his hair.

“Wait, what-” Techno stammers out, Phil wrapping his wings around him, drowning him in feathers as he hugs him tight. “Phil- You’re- You’re squishing me.”

“I know.” Phil mumbles, Techno letting out a huff against his shirt. “Good morning.” 

“Mmnn.” Techno makes a noise that sounds somewhere in between annoyed and confused. “Why are you  _ squishing _ me?” 

“Can’t I just hug my son?” Phil asks lightheartedly, and he can feel Techno freeze, and Phil knows for a fact he’s gone embarrassed with that.

“I guess…” Techno mumbles out, shoving his face into Phil’s shirt. 

“Then I will hug you.” Phil nods, leaning back from where he’s sitting. “It’s going to be busy for the next few weeks.” 

“Why?” 

Phil hesitates, flipping thoughts over in his head, trying to think of a proper way to approach this. Techno knows that he’s hunted, he knows that people want to kill him, because they think he’s dangerous, but he doesn’t know the entire picture. Phil’s told him about being wary, about being careful, but he hasn’t been told about the fact that he’s not the only one. 

It hurts Phil a little to know the fact that Techno is perfectly aware as to why that attack happened yesterday, and he knows Techno understands that he’s not like all the other people they’ve ever met. 

“Phil?” Techno asks, Phil finding that he’s been quiet for too long, and he lets out a quiet sigh, folding back his wings behind him. 

“We need to go find someone.” Phil starts, Techno waiting for him to go on. “You know why you were attacked yesterday, right?”

“Because I’m dangerous?” Techno guesses, not sounding entirely upset over it. 

“You are dangerous, I’ll be honest about that.” Phil says, Techno snorting. 

“I have voices in my head that demand blood.” He deadpans, and Phil has to blink down at him for a second, as Techno just blinks back with a bored expression. “They’re a lot more quiet now, so I’m going to make fun of them.”

“You do that.” Phil grins, scoffing. “Sounds like a good way to make them stay quiet.” 

“It’s better than, well.” Techno falters, gaze drifting off. 

“Fighting?”

“I don’t want to do that.” 

Phil hums, and he thinks of the knife that stays on his hip. “You can practice with a weapon, if it helps. I could get you a proper one, at the next town. Then you’ll have a way to protect yourself, from any repeats of yesterday, and from the voices as well.” 

“I can’t do that.” Techno frowns, shaking his head. “That’s not- I don’t wanna-” He pauses, stares intensely into Phil’s shoulder. 

“Why not?” 

“Because-” Techno stops again, taking a deep breath in. “Because what if I hurt you?” 

Techno looks at him with such worried eyes, bright red and caring, and Phil’s heart squeezes. Techno goes on. 

“Back at the town, I wasn’t even thinking, I didn’t know what happened, but he, he grabbed me, and it’s like everything starting  _ screaming- _ ” He shakes his head, gritting his teeth. “And I just wanted it to be quiet, and I just didn’t want to get killed, so-”

“It’s alright.” Phil reminds, Techno blinking quickly, taking deep breaths. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not!” Techno yells, Phil raising his eyebrows. “I don’t care about the fact I killed  _ them _ , I couldn’t care less about them, what about you!?” 

Phil feels like his air has been taken from his lungs, and he takes a steady intake of air, trying to give an example to Techno of what to follow, deep, calming breaths. 

“You’re not going to hurt me.” Phil says carefully, Techno’s face scrunching up in distress. 

“You don’t know that!” 

“I do.” Phil nods, and he wipes a thumb right under Techno’s eye, Techno huffing as to try not get worked up even more. “I know you don’t want to hurt me. So I know you’ll do everything to assure that it won’t get that bad again.”

Techno lowers his eyes to the necklace around Phil’s neck, usually tucked away under the layers of his clothes, but it sits out in the open now, faintly glowing. 

“It was too loud.” Techno mumbles, and Phil wonders how Techno dealt with it, for those weeks. How he tried distracting himself, tried keeping himself busy so he didn’t have to listen to the words in his head, constant and insisting. Phil wishes he could force them to stop. But that’s up to Techno. 

“But it’s better now?” Phil asks, Techno nodding. “After you had fought in the field?”

“It’s not blood, but they’ll take it.” Techno mutters, huffing. “They just want fighting.”

“Then we can work with that.” Phil says, Techno making a face. “You can handle a weapon of your own, and I know I’ll still be safe.”

Techno looks to the forest floor, staring at a stray leaf on the ground. 

“Do you think you could work with that?” Phil asks, waiting. 

Techno doesn’t respond for a moment, seeming to turn the idea over in his head, before settling on a realization, then nodding. “Okay, I can do that.”

Phil blinks at the sudden mood shift, Techno going from hesitant and upset to purely determined. “Okay?”

“Yup.” Techno nods, rolling off of Phil, going to get to his feet. 

Phil just looks up at Techno with an amused smile, and shakes his head. “Alright. We better get going.”

“Who are we looking for?” Techno asks, as Phil stands up, stretching his wings out with a yawn. “You said we’re looking for someone...why?”

“You are ‘Technoblade’, the ever so feared blood god…” Phil starts, voice laced with sarcasm, and he then goes to poke Techno in the sides, Techno choking on a squeal, struggling to get away as Phil grins and grabs at him. “Who also likes soft things and gold coins.” 

“What about it?” Techno defends, taking several steps away, holding his hands out and getting into a stance, as if ready to run if Phil tries to poke him again. 

“You’re the first of three of a certain prophecy.” Phil says, and he hesitates, then goes on. “ _ That’s _ why people are so scared of you, and that’s why they tried killing you yesterday.”

“Everyone wants to kill me because of dumb prophecy?” Technoblade asks, not looking amused. “What prophecy?”

“Hmm.” Phil clasps his hands together, holding them in front of his mouth. “Before you were born, every single priest, magic user, anyone who had a way to know about legends and all that-”

“Legend, like the ender dragon?” Techno asks. “That’s a legend.” He had read about it in the library, before. He’s read everything he could get his hands on, about that. A whole dragon, in the world different from theirs. It was so cool.

“Yes. They all heard about a new story, with some new creatures. Three monster hybrids, meant to grow up and destroy the entire world as we know it.” Phil says quickly trying to put it all in one blow. “You’re the first one out of three.” 

Techno stares at him. Blinks. 

“Heh?” He only says, and Phil can’t hold back the laugh. “Why would I do that?! That would take so much effort! Sure, my head is all yelling for blood and death, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to kill  _ everyone _ !” 

“I know, I know.” Phil snickers, Techno frowning. “But that’s why you have to be careful. And that’s why we need to go searching for the next kid. I’ve been waiting too long, and everyone knows about them. They could be in danger.” 

“And what do we do when we find them?” 

“Help them.” Phil says easily. “Like I help you.”

Techno seems to think it over, frowning at the ground, but then he nods, slowly. “I guess.” 

\---

They go to move across the land, finding a dirt path and following it, until they hit a new town, bigger, more livelier than the one they’ve been staying at for the past few years. Phil decides to carry Techno as they walk in, and Techno keeps a hood over his head, his face tucked into Phil’s shoulder as he goes down the street. 

Phil is confident enough that no one will recognize him by his wings alone, but he knows it’s just a matter of time until people realize he’s the one who’s ran off with Technoblade, so he needs to enjoy the anonymity while he still can. Techno stays hidden in Phil’s arms, and it’s not suspicious, someone holding a sleeping kid in their arms. 

There’s people scattered around the street as Phil makes his way through it, hearing passing conversations, a few shop owners yelling out deals, and Techno tightens his grip onto Phil’s collar, huffing. 

He’s nervous, and Phil understands. New people, new risks, and he knows Techno doesn’t want a repeat of yesterday, wary of anyone who turns their head to them both. 

Phil keeps a steadying hand on his back and a friendly smile as he walks, some people giving knowing looks, parents of their own kids. Phil has a feeling they wouldn’t be looking so kind if they knew exactly what type of kid Techno was, though. 

Walking past multiple shops, Phil makes his way to a blacksmith, pushing open the door and feeling a wave of heat from inside. He makes a face at the hot air that circles around him, but Techno raises his head with a intrigued look, and there’s a stray thought in Phil’s mind on if Techno misses the nether from time to time. 

Maybe not, he probably would have been too young to really know it past the heat of that realm. 

It’s mostly empty inside, thankfully, only a couple off to the side, who seem lost in their own world as they talk to each other. The walls are lined with plenty of weapons, swords, axes, knives, but also just normal tools, a storage of pickaxes put to the side, a crate of what might be iron bars or something along those lines tucked in the corner, beside the counter made of stone. 

Phil puts Techno down onto the ground, and Techno holds onto his hand, turning his head around to take in the new environment, narrowing his eyes at the people off to the side. He looks up at Phil with almost a frown, and Phil just smiles back. 

“It’ll be quick.” Phil promises, tugging Techno along as he walks over to the counter, making his way around a table in the middle of the room that holds multiple tools on display. 

The blacksmith is a smiley young woman, with pitch black hair tied back and a friendly voice that greets Phil as soon as he walks close enough. 

“Welcome! I didn’t hear the front door ring, gimme a sec!” She calls out, and as Techno leans into Phil’s leg, she goes to run off into the backroom, the sound of something clanging and smashing as she curses. 

There’s a minute of commotion, and she comes back out, circling around the counter, placing her hands onto the stone with a grin. 

“Hey! How are you, what do you-” She goes to say, and pauses at the sight of Phil’s wings on his back. Phil takes a deep breath in at the sparkle of awe in her eyes, and nearly jumps when she slams her hands down on the counter again, leaning to the side and trying to get a better look. “Holy fuck, wings! You have wings! I’ve never seen those before,  _ wow _ .” 

Phil chuckles, smiling. “Had them my whole life.” He responds, a bit sarcastic. 

“Aw, yeah, sorry, that’s probably rude of me, I’m just-” She waves her hands. “Wings! Aw, that’s so cool- moving on, moving on, whaddya need?” 

“We’re here for swords, mainly. Just some simple ones, so we can get back on the road with protection.” 

“We?” She asks, leaning forward on the counter, and as she does, Techno takes a step back to hide into Phil’s wings. 

“Oh fuck, a kid- oh shit, wait- Oh-!” She slaps a hand over her mouth, laughing behind it. “Sorry, I shouldn’t swear in front of a little one. I don’t usually get young kids here, with weapons in the vicinity and all.”

She tries leaning even more over the counter to get a better look at Techno, who keeps himself tucked away behind Phil, just out of sight. “Hey, little guy!” 

Techno tugs at the back of Phil’s shirt, not giving a response. 

“He’s shy.” Phil offers, and she nods, giving a toothy grin. “He’s not really fond of strangers, sorry.”

“No, no, makes sense, he’ll grow out of his shell, don’t worry about it.” She reassures Phil, leaning back. “Just don’t go letting him repeat what I say, I say stupid shit all the time.” She winces. “I’m not the best with kids.” 

“It’s alright.” Phil snickers. 

“Eh, I’ll just give you a discount as a apology for swearin’ in front of your kid. What are you here for again? Swords? You want a custom made one, place an order?”

Phil thinks, turning her question over in his head as he looks across the walls, at the amount of plain swords hanging up, leaning against the wall. 

“I’ll need one, but what I’m really concerned with is his.” He points a finger behind him, to Techno. 

“A sword for the little one? Really now?” She raises her eyebrows, trying to get a good look on Techno again, only for Techno to stay in Phil’s wings. “I mean, then again, with proper guidance, a little bit of fighting never hurt anybody, well, it does hurt, actually, it’s fighting- okay, I need to ask, are you sure?”

Phil holds back a snort. “I thought it would be nice for him to learn, so he can use it as a hobby and for defence when he grows up.” 

“Yeah, that makes sense, alright. I’m not judging your parenting skills, you probably know your kid.” She shrugs, walking around the counter, making her way to the wall of swords. “I’m not sure if I got a small enough one for him, I got all of these- you can pick one out, by the way, go ahead, browse- although, he’s not going to be able to carry these comfortably, hm-” 

She looks up and down the wall, scanning the different blades as Phil slowly walks over to look through the weapons like she suggested, Techno grabbing his hand again. He leans into Phil’s side, eyes looking curiously at all the metal woven into sharp blades in front of him. 

“What do you think, Tech?” Phil murmurs, Techno turning his head up as he looks to the swords placed higher up. “Anything that looks good enough for me to use?” 

Techno glances up to Phil’s face for a moment, before looking back at the wall, tilting his head as he seems to actually look for one. 

“I’m going to check the back, give me a sec!” The blacksmith calls out, jogging over to the backroom for something that would suit Technoblade.

As she’s busy, Techno tugs Phil to the side, searching for the perfect sword, and Phil just waits patiently. He could probably use any of these, to be honest, save for the heavy ones, but he wants to see what Techno will pick. 

After a moment, he seems to find it, and he points a finger at one that sits just out of his reach, and Phil looks at it, then laughs, going to take it off the wall. 

“This one?” Phil asks, holding it in his hand, a simple sword with a gold hilt, a tiny emerald in the center of it. “Don’t tell me you picked this just cause it’s golden.”

Techno has the decency to look a bit sheepish, tugging at Phil’s hand. “No.”

“No?”

“The, uh...green matches your shirt.” Techno nods, Phil snickering. 

“The emerald, mate?” Phil asks, and points the tip of the sword into the ground so Techno can get a look. 

“Yeah.” Techno agrees, poking at the gem, then raising his eyes up to Phil again with an expectant face. 

Phil shrugs, smiling. “Sure. It’s a good choice.” Techno beams. 

“I’m back!” Phil hears, turning his head to the woman again, and she holds three different swords in her arms, kneeling down to the ground in front of Techno and laying them out. “I got some choices, here, look.” 

Techno takes a step back into Phil, hands grasping onto the end of his shirt, and he gives a nudge to Techno for him to go ahead and pick. Techno glances up at him, before looking back down, eyes observing the smaller swords in front of him. They’re a bit thinner, lighter, no doubt, and it might still take a bit for Techno to get used to them, but they seem good. 

“Made these a little while back, they’ve been collecting dust, I won’t lie, I forgot about them in the corner of the workbench. But go ahead, pick one out, little one, whichever you think is best.” The blacksmith grins, leaning back on her knees, holding her palms out. 

Technoblade just stares at them, tugging at Phil’s shirt again. 

“You pick.” He says quietly, Phil barely catching it. 

“It’s your sword, mate.” Phil nudges him in the shoulder to go on. 

“I picked yours, you pick mine.” Techno insists, narrowing his eyes up at Phil, and Phil gives a long, fond sigh. 

“Alright, alright.” He looks down to the swords on the ground, taking less than a minute to really make a choice. “Grab the middle one.” 

Techno picks it up, giving a wary glance to the blacksmith who sits not too far, taking a step back at Phil’s side as quick as he can, before holding it up and looking at it. 

“It might still be a little heavy, sorry for that, but you’ll get strong, won’t you?” The blacksmith asks, leaning forward with a smile, and Techno goes to hide into Phil’s wings again, only for Phil to take a step to the side, Techno giving an absolute betrayed face. 

“Is it good?” Phil asks, Techno holding the sword upside down, the handle to his chest as he frowns at Phil for stepping away. 

“Mhm.” He only gives as an answer, then actually nods. 

“Chatty, aren’t you?” The blacksmith asks, Techno keeping his head down on his boots, like they’re the most interesting thing in the world. “Don’t worry, little one, you’ll grow into it.”

“How much?” Phil asks for the price, taking the sword from Techno as Techno goes to stand behind him, hands grabbing at his feathers. 

“How much you got?” She responds, raising her eyebrows, only to laugh. “I’m kidding. Ten gold sound like a fair trade?” 

Phil reaches into his pocket to hand over the change and as he does, Techno pokes his head out, hand swiping out at Phil’s sleeve. 

“Can I have one?” He whispers, Phil turning his head to him with a smile. 

“Will I get it back?” Phil asks, Techno making a face, before nodding. “Alright.” And he gives a coin over to Techno, who holds it to his chest, looking happy. 

A few minutes later, they’re off, new weapons at their sides, and a general pleasant interaction. Phil walks down the street to go to the church that he can see from here, tall and made of stone. There’s bound to be information there from the priest, over the next kid, and Phil tries to keep the nervous feeling in his chest down at whatever he might hear. 

Techno walks at his side, holding onto Phil’s hand with one hand, and holding his gold coin with the other, eyes glancing up carefully as he looks around the street. 

Phil notes that Techno is going to be seeing quite a lot, for at least the next few months, with them having to stay traveling for the next two kids, and for safety. It could get dangerous, being on the run, and Phil promises to help Techno learn how to use that sword that stays on his hip.

There’s a bell that rings at the top of the church, over and over, loud and chiming, and Phil raises his head to it, humming under his breath. He wonders what time it is, how much time he has until news of yesterday reaches this town, and then the next, and the next, until Phil makes a name for himself. Techno is recognizable, he knows that, but Phil, not so much. But with his wings, and with the incident from those hunters, Phil knows his face will be well known soon. 

They walk up to the church, Phil aiming to get to the wooden doors, but he’s stopped as Techno pauses in his steps, his hand almost slipping out of Phil’s. 

Phil turns around, hearing the clink of a coin falling, and he sees the gleam of gold at Techno’s feet, Techno paying no mind to it. 

“Tech?” Phil asks, his eyesight following Techno’s, to the wall of the church, where there are a few flyers put up, hanging and occasionally fluttering with the winds, their words out for anyone to see. 

Phil’s heart drops as he realizes what Techno is looking at. 

“Is that who we’re looking for?” Techno asks, quietly, as he stares at a wanted poster, a messy drawing of something not quite human on it, something deadly, the features over-dramatic and scary. Phil knows right away there’s no possible way that’s how they actually look. It’s too artificial, too warped under the influence of someone's fear. 

  
_ ‘SECOND MONSTER DESTINED TO CAUSE APOCALYPSE’ _ it says in big, bold letters at the top, Phil feeling like the words are getting burned into his heart as he squeezes Techno’s hand in a way he hopes is comforting. ‘ _ WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE _ ’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact! The reason Technoblade was suddenly set on having a sword was because his thought process was more or less "Well if I'm not going to hurt Phil, like he says, than I'm going to PROTECT HIM!" good for him
> 
> Also I wasss going to try and finally get Wilbur in this chap, but I just couldn't, plot got too long :( He oughta show up in the next one though. For this one, you get a vague mention of him on a wanted poster :P (He's fine don't worry)
> 
> Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it


	6. Boy in the river

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM TIRED!!!!
> 
> but I'm so hyped hope yall like this :D

Phil falters in place for a second as he can only stare at the paper, a tight feeling winding up in the back of his throat, words gone. Techno turns his head to where he dropped his coin earlier, and it lays a few feet away, having rolled off on the street. He doesn’t go to pick it up, and instead looks back up at Phil, whose eyes are wide and stuck on the wall.

Techno squeezes his hand, and Phil blinks, trying to not let his breathing get too quick. He glances down to Technoblade, who blinks back up, face blank. Phil doesn’t know what he must be thinking, and he’s not sure if he should be comforting him or not. 

He goes to walk up to the wall of the church instead, tugging Techno along. Reaching a hand up to the flyer, he holds onto the edge of it tightly with two fingers, reading over it, eyes narrowing at the description, the number offered if the monster is caught. It’s high, and Phil’s never been one for being rich, he doesn’t crave that sort of power, but even then, he knows that the number there, the gold offered, it’s one hell of a motivation. 

‘ _ Has the appearance of a small boy,’  _ it describes, something tugging sharply in Phil’s heart.  _ ‘Blue scales on its face, fins for ears. Dark grey eyes, brown hair. Do not attempt talking with it, kill or capture on sight.’  _

The description is simple enough, and the warning only makes Phil narrow his eyes even more, his mouth turned into a deep frown. A small boy, not the appearance of a small boy, he  _ is _ a small boy. A  _ child. _

This flyer makes it out as if this boy is an uncontrollable danger, but Phil knows for a fact that if any deaths were the cause of this boy, it would be out of self defense. His mind wanders to Techno’s first kills, those two travelers. 

That had been unlucky on it’s own, but the thought of this kid being hunted, on the run as he stands here, it’s too painful to dwell on. Guilt pours down his shoulders, too cold, and he swallows down slight panic, instead just yanking at the flyer and ripping it off the wall. It may not help all that much, but the less people who see it, the better. 

Techno tugs at his hand, his curious face looking up at Phil, and his eyes flick to the paper in Phil’s hand, almost silently asking if he can see. 

For a second, Phil wants to refuse. For a split second, he feels as if he can hide it away and not let Techno truly realize how many people out there can hurt them both, kill them both. To not let him realize how unsafe he really is, being so small. 

But Techno reaches his hand out towards the paper anyway, even with Phil’s hesitance, and the expression on his face spells determination, something like slight anger flashing across for a moment. Phil knows that Techno would be more upset over not being told, rather than knowing.

Kneeling down to Techno’s level, Phil lets go of his hand, and gives the flyer over, Techno grasping it with two hands, reading over the words, staring at the drawing of what is supposed to be a boy just like him. 

Well, not just like him. But similar, in the way that they’re both meant to be hunted, in some sort of way. 

The paper crinkles in his grip, and Techno’s eyes are wide for a moment, stuck on the flyer in his hands. 

“This is who we’re looking for?” He asks, very quietly, just under his breath. 

“I’m sure that’s not what he actually looks like.” Phil reassures, tugging at Techno’s shirt, fixing the way it’s tucked. “It’s probably inaccurate.”

“They’re offering money for his head.” Techno says, like he can’t quite wrap his head around it. 

Phil holds back a sigh, letting Techno process it slowly, as he makes plans in his head. He needs to find the location of this kid, as fast as possible, then work to be able to bring him along with him. No doubt that if there’s already a flyer out for him, with warnings and all, then the kid will be distrustful. Phil quietly hopes that he might be nearby, so that Phil can hopefully get there in time.

He’s already too late, by too much. But better late than never arriving at all. 

“How old is he?” Techno asks, raising his eyes from the paper, Phil slightly thrown off by his question. “How old do you think he is?”

“I…” Phil trails off, both not sure on how to respond and not sure if he really wants to think about it. He got to Techno when he was young, in time before any harm came to him, and he’s glad for that. But if this kid is as old as Techno, and Phil’s this late- “I don’t know.”

Techno’s eyes fall back onto the paper. Phil doesn't know how to describe his expression, something between confused, annoyed, and slightly fearful. He doesn’t know if it’s a good reaction or not. 

The paper crinkles even more in his grip, and Phil doesn’t say anything when the flyer gets crushed into a ball in Techno’s hands, Techno frowning and holding it to his chest. 

Phil holds his hand out for the paper so he could throw it away, burn it later maybe, just for the satisfaction, but Techno shakes his head, instead just grabbing onto Phil’s hand, eyes expectant. 

The paper stays crumpled in Techno’s grip, and Phil just stands to his feet again, pulling Techno along for the two of them to enter the church. Techno sticks to his side as Phil pushes open the wooden doors, the doors creaking quietly as they go in. 

It’s mostly empty, the place quiet save for a few hushed conversations from people scattered around, townspeople either there for their own prayers, or waiting for a blessing from the priest himself. 

Phil doesn’t go to sit down like the others, instead he walks right through with a slight rush to his steps, ignoring the glances he gets, eyes on him, on his wings, on Techno. He holds Techno’s hand just a little tighter. 

The priest that Phil is looking for sits at the front of the church, dressed in dark purple robes, hair curly and dark brown. They’re writing in a small journal, maybe a diary or something along those lines. Phil would be curious, but he has bigger things on his mind. 

“Excuse me?” Phil asks, pausing right beside where he sits. The priest raises their head from the journal, and as they do, Techno leans against Phil’s leg, face turned to the floor. “Are you the priest here?”

They blink for a moment, closing the small book in their hands, putting it to the side. Their eyes trail to Phil’s wings for a moment, glance down at Techno huddled close to Phil, and for a split second, Phil considers throwing his patience out the window and just using the newly acquired sword at his hip to get past the whole awkward meeting stage. 

But the moment moves on quick enough, and Phil takes a small step back as they stand up from their seat.

“I am. What brings you here?” They ask, and Phil’s grateful that he gets straight to the point. 

“I, uhm.” Phil falters, trying to think of how to phrase this in such a way that will make sense. “I had a few questions, I wanted to ask.” 

He tilts his head, waiting for Phil to go on. 

“There was a flyer outside, on the wall. It was asking for the ‘second monster’ of…” Phil trails off, his words faltering. 

“Oh.” They blink, looking conflicted for a moment before his expression calms into something more reassuring. “The apocalypse.” 

Phil smiles, even if he probably shouldn’t be smiling at the idea of complete and utter destruction of the world they know. “Yes. Do you- The second one, he hasn’t been found?”

The priest thinks for a moment, humming. “Well, no one’s kept him captured, that I know of. He’s still on the run.”

_ On the run, _ Phil’s head repeats, and he hates the bitter taste that leaves in his mouth. This kid has been captured before, and has escaped, only to continue running, and the thought of that makes something protective rise up in his chest. He becomes a little more aware of Techno’s presence by his side. 

“Do you know where he is?” Phil questions, and he tries to keep his tone calm, but there’s still a slight hint of desperation in his words, and he can see the way the priest’s face shifts at hearing it.

He doesn’t respond for a few seconds, looking almost confused. “Are you searching for him?” He asks, Phil nodding. “Well… there’s plenty of people looking for him already. You don’t have to worry, he’ll be found before anything terrible happens, if that’s the problem-”

“No, that’s not-” Phil cuts them off, waving a hand. “ _ I _ need to find him.”

The priest looks down at Techno again for a second, clasping his hands together. They look at Phil with a thoughtful expression, something like realization settling on their features, and they smile. “For what reason?” He asks, quietly. 

“To stop the apocalypse.” Phil responds, shrugging with one shoulder. “What else?”

“Plenty of hunters have come here asking the same, I hope you know. To stop the apocalypse. Are you planning on hunting the second monster as well?”

“No.” Phil answers without hesitation. “I’m, I’m just searching for him, so I can...prevent any world-ending events.”

“So you can take another unfortunate child under your wing for protection? Isn’t that what you’re doing?” They say, raising their eyebrows. Phil doesn’t get to respond before they continue again, tilting their head down to Techno with a friendly smile. “Like this one. Technoblade.”

Phil freezes, and Techno looks up from the floor in shock, before taking a step back to stand behind Phil, trying to hide in the feathers of his wings. Phil’s hand jumps to the sword at his side. 

“Oh, no, no, I don’t mean any harm-” The priest immediately says, holding his hands out in a calming manner, bright gold eyes staring wide at Phil. “I just-

His words fall flat at Phil’s glare, and he lowers his hands, looking nervous. Glancing to the people still in the church, who haven’t overheard their quiet conversation, he gives another shaky smile, nodding to a room by the side of the church. 

“Look, we can talk more where someone might not overhear.”

“And how do I know I can trust you?” Phil demands, wary. Each time Techno’s been recognized, people assume the worst, jump to their conclusions. Phil doesn’t want it to repeat again, and he doesn’t want to dirty his sword just after he’s gotten it, but he will if he needs to.

“I wouldn’t sell you out.” They say, almost scandalized at the prospect, and Phil just gives an unimpressed look. “I swear you have my word.” He tries instead. Phil only looks slightly convinced, making a face. Techno peeks out from around Phil’s legs, making a face as well. 

They stammer for a second, trying to think of a way to let Phil know they really do mean no harm. He looks at Techno, and him and Techno lock eyes, Techno frowning deeply and squinting, as if he’s trying to be intimidating. He just looks upset, if anything. 

“I’ve seen the second child, before.” He says, still looking at Techno, and Techno’s face falls, Phil looking surprised as well, searching for any hint of a lie as the priest looks back up at Phil. “And I know he’s not what everyone makes him out to be. He, he doesn’t deserve to be killed.”

The words hang in the air for a moment, Phil considering his choices here. He can faintly hear the crinkle of the paper still in Techno’s hands. 

“Okay.” Phil agrees, finally taking his hand off the grip of his sword, but only so he can lean down and pick Technoblade up off the ground, holding him to his chest. He carries Techno with one hand, and keeps a resting hand on his weapon with the other. “Alright.”

“Alright.” The priest repeats, and walks along, gesturing for Phil to follow.

Their footsteps are quiet as they make their way to the corner of the church, the priest pushing open a wooden door, which leads to a small room, half taken up by stairs that lead higher up into the church. There’s boxes and barrels for storage scattered around, a light layer of dust on them, and Phil doesn’t exactly feel secure when the door closes quietly behind him with a creak. 

“I’m sorry if it’s a little cramped in here, but it’s better than someone overhearing and recognizing that child.” 

“It’s alright.” Phil mutters, even though he is uncomfortable with how small the room is. The stairs offer comfort, at least, as a way out. “You’ve seen the second child, you said?”

“Once, in passing.” The priest answers, nodding. “He came for a place to sleep, and he was gone before I could offer him somewhere to go.” 

A small boy slipping through the doors in the middle of the night, clothes dirty, hair in his face. His feet had been scraped and covered with dried mud, no shoes on to protect them. He had curled up on one of the long benches with a blanket that was offered, and by the time the priest had realized that the prophecy had described a siren hybrid as one of the three, it was too late, and sunrise just barely came up, the kid long gone. He had taken the blanket with him. 

“I didn’t realize…” They trail off, Phil tilting his head. “I thought, when the prophecy, the visions, all the talk that went around, when it said there would be three monster children, they would be more...monstrous.” 

“More easy to kill, you mean?” Phil asks, the priest sputtering as they try to disagree. 

“No, no, I just-”

“They’re just kids. Although many don’t seem to see it that way.”

“People’s perceptions can be warped easily with enough words.” The priest says, Phil humming. “Like with him.” He points to Techno in Phil’s arms. 

“From the rumors I’ve heard, the ‘Blood God’ is a ruthless danger to anyone who lives. Something that could kill in a blink of an eye.” 

Techno huffs, wrapping his arms around Phil’s neck. 

“He’s definitely dangerous, they’re right about that.” Phil agrees, the priest looking marginally surprised. “He can kill. But it’s not like he wants to.” 

“What child would?” They ask, and Phil’s mind jumps to that incident in town once again, Techno with blood on his hands, two dead bodies under him-

“One that’s backed into a corner.” Phil answers. “What else have you heard about Techno?”

“Well, from what’s come around, many think he’s dead.” That’s a relief, and Phil lets the smallest amount of stress fall off his shoulders. “There were a few sightings, some fake, maybe a few true…” Phil shrugs. “But after nothing came up, people assumed he must’ve been killed by someone who didn’t spread the news.”

Phil nods, grimacing a little. After what happened earlier, there’s no doubt that panic will rise up again, as word travels that Techno is perfectly alive, having killed two men, and being accompanied by Phil, who will no doubt stick out with the wings on his back. There goes their element of blending in. 

“And the second child?” Phil asks.

“I’m afraid that even with what little magic I hold, I can’t give you the exact location, but I can tell you where he was last captured, and where hunters are looking. I’m often kept up with it, since so many come to ask me about the prophecy and information over him.”

Phil stares, blinking, a torn expression on his face. “He’s been captured before?” Techno tugs at the collar of his shirt, and Phil rubs a hand onto his back. 

“Multiple times.” The priest nods, looking pained, because there isn’t an easy way to go saying this. “No one’s entirely sure how he keeps escaping, but no ones been able to pin him down long enough. I don’t know how many times he’s escaped.” 

“Oh.” Phil breaths out, and he holds Techno tight in his arms. 

God, no. He was late. Phil had promised to try and protect these kids and he’s already partially failed one. He knows it won’t be easy to find and help this one, no doubt his trust will be broken from being on the run, but Phil knows he will find a way to get this kid to come with him, so he doesn’t have to be doing this on his own anymore. 

But either way, Phil can’t stop the feeling of guilt and panic creeping up his throat, and he stares into the wooden floor as he tries to blink away tears threatening to well up and spill out. What if he’s too late? What if, as they speak right now, the kid is getting cornered again, with luck not on his side? Phil can’t do anything, hasn’t done anything, and it  _ kills _ him-

A small hand smacks into his face, the culprit being Techno, who hits Phil gently (somewhat gently) with a palm against his nose. He holds it there for a moment, Phil blinking at Techno in slight confusion, and Techno blinks back, before smacking him again. 

“Wha- Technoblade.” Phil huffs, grinning and reaching up to pull Techno’s hand off, lightly holding onto the kids wrist. Techno gives an almost smug smile, and Phil responds by tugging at Techno’s hand and blowing a raspberry against his palm. 

Techno jerks his hand back with a squeal, and he holds it to his chest, narrowing his eyes at Phil with a frown. Phil only snickers. 

Turning his attention back to the priest, who smiles at the sight before him, Phil watches as they go to search through the storage in the room, rummaging around in a chest for a moment before walking to Phil and holding out a map. 

“Here.” He says, Phil taking it from his hand, letting Techno help him unfold it and hold it up for the two of them to see. “There should be a town called Ascot, further down.” They say, as Techno and Phil scan over the map. Techno curiously takes the information in, Phil spots the town easily enough. “That’s where I last heard of him, of a sighting there.”

“It’s not much, but I hope that you’ll be able to find him.” The priest nods, Phil glancing up from the map, as Techno tries to fold it again, somewhat succeeding. 

“Thank you.” Phil says, meaning it with all his heart. “It’s enough, I-” He pauses, and Techno goes still as well, as the sound of the front doors slamming open sounds out. The priest looks to the door with wide eyes. 

“Everyone out!” Someone yells, Phil’s heart dropping. “There is a dangerous individual in the building, for your safety, everyone out!” 

He turns to the priest, who looks just as panicked, raising his hands up. “I didn’t sell you out!” They say, quickly walking to the door. “Stay here, you’ll be fine.”

“They’re here for me, how am I going to be fine?!” Phil whispers, taking a few steps back, the priest waving a hand, and the door shuts behind them. 

Phil takes a deep breath in, looking to the stairs, and he takes the map from Techno’s hands, tucking it away, and going up the steps, hoping it’ll lead somewhere where he can see something. 

It leads to some kind of balcony up above, by the sides of the church, and Phil kneels down by the railing, having a full view of what happens below him. He can see multiple people scattered by the front doors, weapons in hand, and light armor. 

“Who’s that?” Techno asks, voice barely a whisper, holding on tightly to Phil as he looks down as well. 

“I don’t know.” Phil answers truthfully, listening in on the conversation happening below. 

Phil’s thankful to see the priest standing his ground, the hunters seeming to be hesitant with coming more into the church with how they cross their arms with a stern look. 

“-I understand, I apologize for barging in, but for your safety-”

“This is a church! A sacred place, you can’t just come in here with weapons, yelling for people to leave-”

“Of course, but-”

“-do you have any idea how rude that is-?” The priest insists, tilting his head at the man in front of him, who wears golden armor and holds an iron sword in his hand.

“Listen.” He insists, holding a hand up. “We’ve heard reports of a man coming in here, who’s connected to an incident that happened not that long ago in a village nearby.” 

Phil huffs, wincing at the loss of being unknown. Word has traveled that fast? Well, it makes sense, with people thinking Technoblade was dead, only for him to pop back up with new blood on his hands.

“That doesn’t mean you can just drag him out by force.” The priest says, frowning, giving a look to the other hunters scattered around, who all take a few steps towards the front door, as to not intrude more than they already have. 

The man in front of him looks slightly frustrated. “Do you even know what he’s protecting? He has-”

“The church is not a place for violence-”

“Surely there can be an exception, when he holds something that could kill us all!” 

The priest levels him with a look, as if his patience has worn thin. The hunter goes quiet, and a few people even look to the ground in shame. 

“This church is a sacred place that offers sanctuary to those who need it. Anyone within these walls is protected by that rule. You absolutely cannot force them out.”

“So he is here?” The man asks, getting narrowed eyes in response. “Sorry. Please, just hear us out-”

“If you really are insistent on catching the person you’re looking for, you may wait outside until he leaves, and you can meet him then. But you can not go searching around and disrupting the peace of my church.” The priest says, clasping his hands together in front of him, and for a second, his eyes are just a little too bright. “I will ask one more time. Leave.”

Phil watches as there’s some hesitance from the people to exit the church, but with the way the priest holds no room for argument in their expression, they leave eventually, and Phil can hear talk of guarding the exits of the church as the front doors close. 

Waiting a few seconds to really make sure they’re gone, Phil stands up, looking over the railing, the priest looking up at Phil with a sympathetic face. 

“I’m not sure how long they’ll be guarding the exits, but you both can stay for as long as you need to.” They say, walking through the now empty seats of the church. “I was telling the truth of offering sanctuary. You are safe here.”

“I appreciate it.” Phil answers, his words nearly echoing out across the empty church. “But we can’t stay.” There’s still the second kid, and with each minute passing, it’s another minute where that kid could be in danger.

They nod at Phil with a conflicted look. “Then how will you leave?” 

Phil walks along the pathway to another set of stairs at the end, ones that go up even higher, no doubt to the top of the church, perhaps. “I’ve got wings, mate.” Phil grins.

\---

Phil flies from the roof of the church, amused at the looks he gets when people spot him getting away, and the yelling of people realizing he has an advantage over them, with being able to soar through the air. 

Him and Techno fly away from the small town, not noticing the way the priest opens his doors once again, regretfully informing that oh, no, Phil has gotten away, there he goes. Phil isn’t around to watch as the blacksmith that he had talked to earlier, the woman who had been so kind and friendly, punches a hunter across the face when one of them raises their voice at the priest for not keeping Phil in the building. 

No, instead, he and Techno fly out over the trees, Phil making sure to get a good distance between him and the town before landing on the ground to check the map once more. The town they need to go to is far, but not too far. It’ll take two weeks tops for Phil to fly them over there. 

Techno kicks his boot into the dirt under him as Phil looks over the map, and he makes an unhappy noise, realizing something. 

“What’s wrong, mate?” Phil asks, looking down to see Techno slump against him, huffing. 

“I dropped my coin.” Techno supplies, and Phil can’t help but laugh, even when Techno gives him a frown. 

\---

They fly at night, then either rest or walk during the day. Phil doesn’t want to risk being spotted in the sky while he makes his way to the town, so traveling under the protection of the night is the best way to go. 

Techno mostly sleeps in Phil’s arms while it’s night, and when Phil lands down at sunrise, he sleeps with Techno, who rests in his arms still, the two of them sleeping far into the morning. 

They wake up in the middle of a grassy field, tall grass that reaches up to Techno’s waist all around them. 

Phil takes the chance to finally use the swords they have, and Techno practically leaps at the opportunity to finally learn how to use it, holding it with a determined look on his face. 

However, Phil doesn’t get to teach anything in the first ten minutes or so, because Techno insists that his head is getting too loud, so he spends the time cutting away at the grass around him, swiping through and chopping away with a sense of slight aggression. 

Phil just watches with a fond look, arms crossed. Techno cuts out a whole path in the grass, seeming to not care if it’ll seem weird from above, but more focused on just cutting through something, satisfying the urge for some kind of violence. 

“Hey.” Phil says, after a few minutes of Techno focused on his work. Techno raises his chin, but he doesn’t quite look away from the grass, still cutting across again. “About your voices.” 

Techno pauses, holding the sword out in front of him. He turns his head to Phil. “What about them?” 

“This helps, right?”

“Yeah.” Techno shrugs, cutting down another piece of grass. “They just kinda want something exciting. And, actually- When they’re not all loud, and overlapping, they say a lot of annoying things.” 

“Really?”

“ _ Cutting grass is boring.” _ Techno says, in a mocking voice. “ _ Why grass? _ Because I’m not cutting anything else, this is all I got.” He mutters under his breath. 

Phil huffs, shaking his head. “Hey.”

Techno looks at him, face bored. 

“What are they saying now?” Phil asks, and Techno blinks. 

He stares at Phil for a long minute, and Phil thinks he might not respond at all, when he mumbles out. “Just stuff.” And goes back to attacking the grass. 

Techno’s head fills with silly words, _dad, dadza,_ _we got to protect him,_ and he shoves it down, tells the voices to shush, and cuts at the grass. 

\---

The time passes by slowly, their routine going well. They either fly, walk, rest, or practice sparring, and Phil knows exactly which one Techno enjoys the most. 

They’re a week into their travel, Techno knowing how to hold a sword better, and Phil being just a bit more relieved at the progress they make. From getting closer to the town, and from Techno learning how to defend himself. 

It’s daylight, when they’re walking along a dirt path, Phil and Techno side by side as they make their way to their destination. The town should be just a few days more away, and once they get there, Phil is sure he can find a way to get some sort of information out of someone, to try and find the next kid. 

As they walk along, Phil is lost in his thoughts enough to where he almost doesn’t hear the crinkling of paper in Techno's hands. When he looks to his side, he finds nothing, and Phil stops in his tracks, turning around. 

Techno’s stopped walking too, and he holds the flyer from earlier, from the church. He stares at the picture of what is supposed to be Wilbur, expression blank, and Phil frowns. He had hoped that Techno dropped that sometime during their traveling, but he still had it tucked away in his pocket, apparently. 

“Tech?” Phil asks, and the paper crumples in Techno’s grip, his hands holding it too tight. “Techno.”

His face has shifted into something upset, and Phil quickly walks over, aiming to gently take the flyer away, offer words of comfort, maybe have them rest here for a while. He ends up stopping in his tracks at Techno’s words, though. 

“This isn’t fair.” Techno mumbles out, Phil just barely hearing it. 

It feels like his heart has dropped, with the tone in Techno’s voice, quiet and almost sorrowful. 

“What?” Phil is only able to say, his words failing him. 

“This isn’t. Fair.” Techno repeats, much more stressed. He frowns at the paper in his hands. “This- they’re offering a lot of money for his head. For people to kill him, or, put him in a cage, probably-”

“Techno-” Phil clears his throat, holding out his hand. “Give me the flyer-”

“No.” Techno refuses, raising his head. “You said this is the second kid. He’s like me, right?”

“Technoblade-” Phil swallows, Techno’s eyes staring at him, and for once they feel like they’re holding too many questions. 

“Could this have been me?” Techno asks, and Phil sets his jaw to try and stave off the way his heart hurts at those words. “I keep looking at this, when you’re sleeping, and you said he’s the second kid, there’s three of us, so he’s like me.”

“He is.” Phil answers carefully. 

“And, and so, if there’s this paper, for him, people wanting him to die and paying money for it, then there’s one for me too, isn’t there?”

“I-” Phil falters, sighing. “Yes. Probably.”

“Is there one for you.” Techno says, and he says it like that’s a concept that’s worse than his own life being in danger, his face holding the slightest bit of anger. 

Phil almost doesn’t want to answer, but his hesitation is answer enough. Techno’s face shifts into something not quite shocked, but a mix of disgust and anger, young frustration. 

“That’s-” Techno cuts himself, looking down at the flyer again, and he tears it into pieces. “That’s not fair! That’s stupid, that’s not fair!”

“Technoblade-”

Techno ignores him, ripping apart the paper into shreds in his hands. “No! That’s- No, why would they do that!?” Techno yells, letting the pieces of paper fall onto the dirt, then dragging his shoe over it, pressing it into the ground. “That’s not fair, why do they want to hurt you?!”

“Because I have you.” Phil answers quietly, watching as Techno gets riled up, slamming his foot into the ground. 

“And why do they want to kill me?! Or him!” He points at the ripped up paper on the ground. “Why would they want to-”

“It’s-” Phil waves his hands, kneeling down in front of Techno. “It’s not easy to explain, Tech. There’s bad people in the world, and good ones-”

“ _ One _ good one.” Techno stresses, jabbing Phil in the chest. 

Phil ignores the swell of emotion he feels in his heart at hearing that. “And it is unfair, you are right. It’s not fair at all, but they’re scared-”

“ _ They’re _ scared?” Techno repeats, almost scoffing. 

“Yes, and fear makes people do stupid things, sometimes even drastic things-”

“I’m scared too!” Techno insists, hitting his hands against Phil. “I’m scared of getting killed!” He hits against his shirt again. “I’m scared of  _ you _ getting killed!”

Phil takes a sharp breath in, holding onto Techno’s hands gently. “Techno.”

“And  _ he’s _ probably scared too!” Techno points to the paper again, then continues, shaking his head. “They’re  _ scared _ , scared of what? Me killing them? They’re trying to kill me first!”

“I know-”

“That’s dumb!”

“You have a right to be angry about it, it  _ is _ dumb.” Phil smiles, Techno frowning. “But-” Phil pauses. 

Techno pauses too, going still, the two of them listening out to the trees around them. 

There’s the sound of people, and horses. 

“Phil?” Techno says quietly, looking past Phil, squinting down the path. 

Phil stands up, turning around, looking as well. 

He sees a group of people on horse emerge from the trees, making their way down the path, weapons in hand, yelling out to each other. One of them hold a crossbow, another a sword, an axe-

“Phil-” Techno says again, more panicked, and Phil sweeps Techno off his feet and goes running off the path, into the trees. 

He hears the sound of people following, and there’s more yelling, branches and bushes getting pushed to the side as Phil runs, Techno holding on tightly, looking over Phil’s shoulder. 

“There’s people running after us, they’re-” Techno says, gasping when an arrow comes flying through the air. It doesn’t land that close to them, but it’s enough to scare them, and Phil runs even faster. “Phil!”

The trees overhead are in his way to fly, the branches blocking his way out. Phil runs up a hill, seeing that the trees let up into a clearing up ahead, thankfully, to what looks like a river. 

“It’s alright, there’s a clearing up ahead, we can get away there.” Phil reassures, Techno holding on with a death grip as Phil makes his way over roots and plants. 

He’s not too sure if the people behind him are hunters or not, but it doesn’t really matter, because as he sprints, he’s able to get to the clearing, his wings spreading out almost as soon as there is space for it, and just as he’s about to fly off over the river to get away, Techno tugs at the collar of his shirt. 

“Phil.” Techno breathes out, and the way he says it makes Phil pause, looking down from the sky to see-

A boy looking to be Techno’s age standing in the river, staring back at them with wide, grey eyes, blue scales scattered at the sides of his face. 

Phil seems to lose his breath right there, as Wilbur stares at them both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gotta say, school has been beating me up, but my best friend caught the cold yesterday (ha, dork (hi mari, I know u see this)) so I threw most of my responsibilities out the window and crafted this up just for her! It is 2:30 am and I am VERY satisfied with how this turned out. 
> 
> also Wilbur! fish boy. (Also eyyy priest with he/they pronouns brrrr)
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I am up at a time where I should be asleep! Thanks so much if you've left a kudos, I can and will cry out of gratefulness. I would give you money, but I'm broke!
> 
> Thanks anyway, and also geez I need to stop making a bunch of SBI worlds, I'm updating like four different fics at a time haha
> 
> (If you got fanart or something, you can @ me with the username "sircantus" on either insta, twitter, or tumblr. I would love to see it! :D )


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